Amour de la Lune
by ADeerInHeadlights
Summary: A werewolf is stalking the Potters, or perhaps just one Potter in particular... Set after the Epilogue. DH Spoilers, ye have been warned. May jump to an M rating later. HG/GW pairing, femslash. R&R!
1. A Wolf's Cry

_So, I'm not sure how this story will turn out really...this is a random idea that came about whilst I was reading, and since HermionexGinny is a pairing I've recently become interested in, I thought why not? Lets try it out. I can't promise that this story will be any good, or that it will even continue, since I'm not sure how people will react to it, but please feel free to leave me some reviews on what you think!_

_Disclaimer-O-Doom: Obviously, I'm not J.. If I was you'd be able to sense the awesomeness already, but since you can't, I'm obviously not her. Apart from a few OC's that may come in later, most of the cast of this fanfic belong to J.. I'm just borrowing them for a bit to practise writing, etc._

_Enjoy!_

* * *

_**Amour de la Lune - Chapter One - A Wolf's Cry**_

The moon hung low near the horizon, filling the bottom of the sky with silver and casting long shadows on the Earth below. Ginny Potter, previously Ginny Weasley, found herself mesmerised by the moon as it caught her eye out of the kitchen window. The red haired witch hovered at the edge of the shadowy room, watching the silvery moonlight climb up the legs of the kitchen chairs and cupboards, turning the usually yellow kitchen shockingly white. So focused on the sight before her, Ginny didn't hear the light footsteps creep up behind her. A light touch to her shoulder brought Ginny out of her trance with a jolt, and she turned to see who had roused her. Harry smiled as Ginny turned to him, and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Enjoying the full moon?" He asked, his breath dancing across Ginny's scalp and making her shiver.

"It seems...brighter tonight." Ginny replied somewhat stupidly, distracted by Harry's touch. Harry laughed and pulled back from his wife, a smile dancing across his face.

"What?" Ginny asked.

"I just realised – Albus is probably having his first astrology lesson right now." Harry grinned rather proudly, causing Ginny to smile brightly at him in return.

It was hard to believe that both Albus and James were now at Hogwarts. The first morning they had both been absent, Ginny had overcooked, forgetting the boys weren't there. The remaining Potters ending up having to devour a mountain load of extra food, and hadn't eaten for the rest of the day in fear of upsetting their bludging stomachs. Ginny was sure that by the time she was able to cook for three again instead of five, it would be the holidays once more and the boys would be back, pleading for second and third helpings at every meal.

"We'll hear about it tomorrow I'm sure." Ginny said, dropping her thoughts about food and returning to the original conversation. "He said he'd send a letter about his first week on Friday."

Harry gave Ginny a thoughtful look. "Yes, I think I remember him mentioning that...I think I remember James mentioning it as well, in miniscule writing at the bottom of his letter about the shame Albus brought on the family by being sorted into Slytherin..."

Both parents laughed at the memory, and then Harry took Ginny's hand and slowly began to lead her away from the kitchen. They walked though the living room to a small set of stairs leading towards the second story of the Potter household, ascending them together. Halfway up the staircase, Ginny briefly paused to peer out of the window that looked out onto the backyard, her eyes instantly drawn to the moon once more. A light tug from Harry pulled her from the sight before she could become too transfixed, but before she continued Ginny sent a silent question to the giant orb in the sky: _Why do you keep calling me?_

Reaching the second floor landing, Harry reached upwards and knocked on the ceiling above him. There was a squeak of fear, and the sound of feet rushing around above the two adults heads as they each gave the other a look.

"Lily, can we come up?" Harry called.

"Just a minute!" A nervous voice replied, the feet above them speeding up. A moment or two later, the sounds from above calmed, and quite suddenly a square trapdoor appeared above Harry's head. He stepped back quickly, narrowly avoiding a sturdy wooden ladder that landed where he had been standing just a moment before. "Come up!" The nervous voice called, and both Ginny and Harry quickly clambered up the ladder to the room above.

Lily Luna Potter's room took up the whole attic, though you could hardly tell from mounds of odds and ends that littered the place. When the youngest Potter had originally asked to move up to the attic, both Ginny and Harry had been doubtful. What could their young daughter possibly want with so much space, when she could barely find enough things to decorate her dresser properly? But from the moment Lily had first closed the trap door over their heads, she had been finding things to decorate the attic with. Namely –

"Lily, did you take your brothers spellbooks again?" Ginny asked, quickly spotting the edge of _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2 _which her daughter had obviously been trying to hide whilst her parents had waited on the landing below. Lily flushed a deep magenta that clashed with her Weasley-red hair quiet strikingly.

"I – It wasn't really stealing – just uh – borrowing?" Lily squeaked, avoiding Ginny's gaze by staring at her floorboards instead.

Ginny sighed, leaving Harry standing alone near the trapdoor and made her way to her daughter's bed, so she could sit beside Lily.

"Lily Luna Potter, I know you didn't mean any harm, but you know you can't – "

"- take your brothers books without permission, because they need them for school, and because your only 9 years old and not ready for spells yet." Lily finished for her Mother, grumpily crossing her arms across her chest, her previous embarrassment forgotten. Somewhere behind her, Ginny heard Harry stifle a laugh at his daughter's imitation. She turned her head and gave him a look, which made him apologize quick smart. Turning back to Lily, Ginny prepared to scold her daughter lightly, but as she began to speak, a long hungry howl issued from below Lily's window, and Ginny's blood ran cold.

It took all of three seconds for Harry to pull up the ladder and magically seal the trapdoor to Lily's room with his wand, while Ginny told her daughter to stay quiet as she made her way towards the window. Harry joined her before she reached the sill, and so they both looked into the garden below them at the same time, the chill in Ginny's blood deepening instantly.

"Mum, what is it?" Lily hissed, but Ginny couldn't answer her. She was too shocked by the sight down in the garden.

A fully grown werewolf was hunched near the broom shed, sniffing the ground with its long snout and digging gently at the dirt. The moon made the wolf almost white; though Ginny had a distinct feeling that it actually had dark fur that would have made it impossible to spot in any other light. The wolf was free of bites and scars', meaning it was fairly new, and this made Ginny's blood turn even more icy. Old werewolves were bad enough, but a new cub, possibly on it's first moon?

Before the thought fully formed, the werewolf's head turned upwards, and its dancing scarlet eyes locked onto Ginny's own.

Everything seemed to happen very fast and very slow at the same time. The wolf howled once more, and ran towards the house, smashing in the back door and landing in the kitchen below. Harry yelled for Ginny to go to Lily, who had turned pale at the sound of the door downstairs smashing, while Harry himself levitated as many heavy objects as he could over the trapdoor. The door now reinforced with magic and good old fashioned weight, Harry moved backwards towards Lily's bed, while all three Potter's struggled to hear what was happening downstairs.

There was a crash as the wolf apparently smashed into the cabinet holding the good china, and a snarl that drove Lily to pull the blankets off her bed and over her head. Three loud thuds informed the family that the wolf was on the stairs, and another low growl let them know the wolf was directly beneath their feet on the landing below.

**BANG!**

The dresser above the trapdoor shuddered but held as the werewolf slammed into heavily. Lily let out a sob and clung desperately to her mother, while Ginny tried to force her heart back into her chest from her throat. Harry held his wand straight in front of him, waiting –

**BANG!**

Once again the dresser shuddered, and the wolf below howled in frustration. Harry glanced back at Ginny, his face hard.

"We have to get out of the house." He said, while the werewolf began to claw at the trapdoor, its sharp claws ripping ferociously into the wood. Ginny nodded, pulling Lily up from her hiding spot and crossing quickly to Harry.

"Where should we go?" Ginny asked, flinching as the wolf below snarled and began to dig against the wood harder. "Ron and Hermione's is too far away and –"

"The Burrow." Harry answered quickly, "We'll go to The Burrow. You take Lily – go, now!"

Ginny nodded, and told a sobbing Lily to hold tight onto her arm, which wasn't hard in Lily's current state. Turning on the spot, Ginny focused hard on her childhood home, and felt herself slip into nothingness as she apparated away from Lily's room.

A moment later the suffocating darkness disappeared, and Ginny couldn't help remembering the wolf howling as she had left, howling as if in disappointment.

Ignoring the sound that rang in her ears, Ginny rushed to the front door and knocked as loudly as she could.


	2. Owls and Floo Powder

_This may be the longest chapter I've written so far on FF. *dies* Sorry if it's absolutely dreadfully long and boring to read - I've written out the plot to this story and am trying to follow it religiously, which means that some chapters might be a bit long and boring. Hopefully you'll forgive me? Haha._

_Disclaimer-o-Doom: I'm not JK Rowling. If I was, do you really think I would be writing fanfiction about my own series? That'd be weird, concider then it would have to be like, authorfiction instead? Um, well, anyway, enjoy!_

* * *

**Amour de la Lune - Chapter 2 - Owls and Floo Powder**

Molly and Arthur Weasley had just settled down for their final cup of tea before bed when someone began knocking ear-splittingly loud at their door. Arthur, who had just been leaning in to take his first sip of tea, spilt the hot liquid all down his front in fright, while Molly simply glanced towards the front door in surprise.

"Who would be calling this late at night?" She wondered aloud as her husband danced around in his pyjama's, trying to stop the burning down his front. Setting down her tea, Molly made her way to the front door, shocked to find her daughter and granddaughter standing behind it, both looking quite pale and shaky.

"Ginny! Lily!" Molly exclaimed, her words carrying back to Arthur in the lounge room who immediately halted his hot-tea-two-step. "What's happened? Are you alright?"

Ginny quickly made her way past the still flabbergasted Molly, seating Lily at one of the mismatched chairs situated around the large dining room table, and with a wave of her wand had the various utensils around the kitchen making the young girl some hot chocolate in mere seconds. She then turned back her mother, who had begun to close the front door.

"Wait! Harry will be here any minute!" Ginny said, catching the door before it fully closed. Seconds later there was a small _pop_ and Harry appeared just outside the door, looking just as pale if not less shaky then his wife and daughter.

"It left," He said grimly as he came inside and Ginny closed the door, "Just as I apparated out. Howled something awful as it ran out too. But I think we're too far away for it to reach us here, so we should be fine –"

"What's going on here?" Arthur cut in loudly, having finally appeared from the lounge room; his pyjama's now free from any tea stains. Lily, who had been silently drinking her hot chocolate while her father talked, took one look at her grandfather and burst into tears.

"T-t-there was a w-wolf outside my window!" She sobbed, her hands shaking around her mug. "It came inside and tried to get up into my room! L-l-like it knew w-where we w-w-were!" That final sentence seemed to be Lily's undoing – she pushed her mug away and laid her head on the table, crying loudly. Molly reached her granddaughter first, hugging the girl tightly as her fear flooded out of her in hot tears.

"Ginerva." Molly said sternly, tears glistening in her own eyes now. "Explain everything. Now."

Harry and Ginny both took a place at the kitchen table nearest the door, while Arthur sat directly across from them with Molly who had pulled Lily into her lap and was quietly trying to calm her down.

"A werewolf attacked the house." Harry said, leaning forwards onto the table and gently massaging his temples. Arthur looked absolutely stunned; Molly even more so. Lily's tears dried slightly as she looked at her father in shock, unable to believe what she had just heard.

"It literally came out of no where." Ginny continued for her husband. "We were up in Lily's room, talking, when suddenly there was this horrible howl and –"

Lily started to cry again, if not more softly than before, and Ginny stopped talking with a pained expression on her face. The little girl jumped off her grandma's lap, running to her mother who waited with arms opened wide, and sat in the warmth of her mother's arms as she started to sob once more. Ginny held her close as Harry informed her parents about the rest of the attack.

"It's true, werewolves do often attack humans – how else would they continue to grow in number?" Arthur mused when Harry had finished, leaning back in his chair. "But to target one house, whose family just happens to be magical and also include Harry Potter?" Arthur looked grimly at his son-in-law. "Something doesn't seem right there."

Harry nodded in agreement, and Ginny who had been quietly trying to sooth her daughter, looked up at her father with concern.

"You don't think – I mean, someone can't – they aren't going after Harry again, are they?" She asked. Her voice was calm but her eyes were wide with fright.

A silence descended on the kitchen, broken only by Lily's soft sobs.

"I think perhaps we should send Lily off to bed." Molly said softly, standing and beckoning the young girl to follow her. "We can let her sleep in your old room Ginny, and then we'll...then we'll talk more."

The silence remained as Lily gave her mother and father two tight hugs and then left with her grandmother, holding Molly's hand tightly as they walked up the staircase. Watching them go, Ginny reached out blindly to Harry, grabbing his hand and squeezing it tightly once, to which he replied with his own firm grip. A minute or two after this exchange, in which Arthur made Harry and Ginny strong cups of tea, Molly returned and the four adults moved into the living room to continue their discussion.

"Tell us more of this wolf." Arthur said, taking his tea into his hands and taking a sip from the cup. Ginny remembered how she thought the wolf was only new, because of its lack of scars and injuries. Arthur nodded at this information, his expression slightly brighter than before.

"I think that puts the attack back into the category of random coincidence." Arthur reasoned, Ginny immediately relaxing from her father's reassurance. "A new wolf would never be put up to an attack on its first few moons – the odds of it attacking someone else apart from the intended target would be too great."

"I haven't heard of any werewolf attacks near our house from the surrounding Wizarding families...that must mean a muggle has been bitten and has no idea what they just did, or what they'll continue to do from now on." Harry said, looking up at Ginny.

"We'll have to keep an eye out for anyone who starts to act suspiciously around town, just in case." She suggested, and Harry agreed. The four adults continued to discuss the wolf while they finished their drinks, until the cups were empty and Molly left to prepare a room for Harry and Ginny to use for the night. Arthur bid them goodnight, giving Ginny a tight hug before he disappeared to his and Molly room – the action repeated by Molly when she came to say goodnight as well.

"Are you sure you're both alright?" She asked concerned as Harry and Ginny made their way towards Percy's old room, which Molly had set up for them both. Ginny looked towards Harry, who smiled reassuringly, and then back to her mother.

"We're fine." She promised, and then they went to bed.

***

The next morning found Ginny waking up in a daze. It took her a moment or two to remember where she was, and another moment to remember why she was back at her childhood home. _We were attacked last night_ she remembered, panic seising her as she shot up from bed and quickly turned to her right. Harry laid there, his body curled towards Ginny and one arm draped across her stomach. Her quick movements had woken him, and he slowly opened his eyes and squinted at Ginny.

"Gin, are you alright?" He asked soothingly.

Her panic faded, and Ginny lay back down, immediately pulled into the circle of Harry's arms. Taking a calming breath, Ginny snuggled into Harry's chest and sighed.

"I'm fine; I just forgot where I was for a moment." She laughed.

The couple lay together for a few moments, enjoying each others warmth. A few minutes later however, a gentle knock came from the door.

"Mum? Dad? Can I come in please?" Lily whispered from outside the door. Ginny pulled herself out of Harry's embrace and turned towards the door with a smile.

"Of course you can Lily, come in."

Lily's slipped quietly into the room, closing the door with a snap and then running to her parent's side. In no time at all she had snuck into their bed, and lay between her mother and father, who both gave her a tight hug between them.

"How are you feeling this morning sweetie?" Ginny asked softly, running her hand through her daughters long red hair.

"Better." Lily mumbled into Harry's pillow. "I kept waking up though, thinking the werewolf had found us again..."

The young girl shivered, clutching both of her parents tightly. Harry, who had put on his glasses as Lily had entered the room, looked his daughter straight in the eye and gave her a bright smile.

"Even if we do see it again, you'll be safe Lily. I promise I won't let anything hurt you."

Lily looked up at father gratefully, giving him another tight hug. A knock then came from the door.

"Ginny? Harry? Breakfast is downstairs when you're ready." Molly called from the landing outside, and then continued on her way downstairs, her feet echoing up the empty staircase.

"What do you think Lil?" Harry asked, smiling brightly at his daughter once more. "Do you feel like grandma's special breakfast?"

Lily giggled and nodded, jumping out from her parent's bed and speeding from the room. Harry and Ginny laughed at their daughter's enthusiasm, following her at a more casual pace after they had both dressed for the day in clothes Molly had left for them the night before. In the kitchen they found Arthur in deep conversation about the techniques of syrup pouring with Lily, who was hanging on to his every word with wonderment. Molly was moving around the kitchen, preparing food of all kinds from bacon and eggs to waffles and toast. Ginny and Harry had been seated for only a few seconds when Molly suddenly thrust plates of sausages and eggs in front of them, telling them not to be afraid to ask for second or third helpings. As Ginny ate, she couldn't help but smile as she remembered breakfasts just like this one from her childhood with all her brothers and family.

"Oh!" Exclaimed Arthur suddenly as he helped Lily make a smiley face with her bacon and eggs. "I forgot, you have a letter."

Harry took the letter Arthur offered to them, opening it and skimming over it quickly. Smiling, he passed it to Ginny who immediately recognised her youngest son's neat handwriting.

_Dear Mum, Dad and Lily,_

_How are you all? I've only been at Hogwarts for a week and it already feels like forever since I saw you. Things are going really great here – Hogwarts is so much better than I ever thought! James has started talking to me again, though he refuses to come and sit with me at the Slytherin table at breakfast. I don't mind though, I've made some good friends already. I don't know why James hates Slytherin so much, it isn't really that bad._

_I'm really enjoying all my classes – or well, almost all of them. Transfiguration is probably my least favourite, since the teacher doesn't like me very much. He got upset because when we were trying to turn matches into needles, I messed up the wording of the spell and accidently sent my needle flying into his arm. He was alright, but he always seems to make sure he stays at least three tables away from me now. But Potions definitely makes up for it, because it's my favourite class next to flying. _("That's my boy." Harry chuckled beside Ginny, reading over her shoulder.) _The teacher is really nice and helpful. All the teachers are actually._

_Anyway, I hope everything is okay at home! I can't wait for holidays so I can see you all again. Give Lily a hug for me mum, and give mum a hug for me dad._

_Love, Albus._

_Ps. Hagrid says hello!_

_Pps. Professor Longbottom also says hello._

_Ppps. Rose also also says hello._

Ginny smiled at the last few lines, folding the letter back up and placing it back in its envelope.

"Sounds like he's having fun." She laughed, and Harry nodded.

"It's impossible not to have fun at Hogwarts though, remember?" He grinned.

The Potter's returned to their breakfast, both finishing third helpings just to keep Molly happy. They had just sent Lily up to get changed before they ventured back home to inspect the damage when there was a loud bang from the lounge room.

"Mum! Dad!" A worried voice called. "Where are you?"

"In here Ron! In the kitchen!" Molly called back; Ron appeared in the doorway in mere seconds, his robes looking scrunched and un-pressed, and his hair sticking up at odd angles like he'd just awoken.

"I just went to Harry's place, and it's absolutely destroyed! Have you heard from them and –" Ron started, and then stopped suddenly as he noticed Harry and Ginny sitting quietly at the kitchen table. In two bounds he had rushed at them, grabbing both his sister and best friend in tight hugs that smashed the air out of their lungs.

"Harry! Ginny! Your okay! I was so worried when I flooed into the lounge room and found everything torn to shreds!" He said hysterically. "I thought you'd been attacked or something!"

"Ron, we were attacked, but we're fine, honestly mate." Harry said, pushing the man off of him. "Just calm down okay? Sit down and have some tea."

Ron did sit down, but refused any food. He demanded Harry explained why his house was ruined, which Harry did as quickly as possible.

"So we stayed here for the night." Harry concluded to an opened mouthed Ron, who was still slowly digesting the news. "But we were just about to go back to see how bad the damage is."

"It's bad, trust me." Ron said grimly, crossing his arms over his chest. "There are scratches all up and down the walls, most of the furniture is torn to shreds. The worst places were your room and the entrance to Lily's room."

"That'd make sense. It scratched at it when we were hiding up there." Ginny reasoned. "But why our room...?"

Harry shrugged just as Lily came back down the stairs, dressed and ready to go.

"Uncle Ron!" She cried happily, running across the kitchen and flinging herself into her uncle's arms. Ron smiled at his young niece, rubbing her head affectionately.

"I could have sworn you were at least 5 inches shorter when I last saw you Lil. You're growing up too fast!" He joked, making Lily smile with glee. While she started asking him how Rose was doing at Hogwarts, Harry and Ginny finished up their goodbyes with Molly and Arthur, promising to keep them informed on there mysterious werewolf.

"We'll see you later!" Ginny promised as she, Ron, Lily and Harry prepared to floo back to the Potter residence. Lily went first, and Ginny followed right after to make sure Lily made it home alright. Her last vision before spinning into the emerald green flames was her parents side by side, worried expressions still etched into their faces.

***

Ron's description of the damage made by the wolf was less than accurate. The walls were scratched, the sofa's ruined, and the entrance to Lily's room almost destroyed just as he had said - but he never mentioned the chunks of wood missing from the stairs banister, or the bundle of sticks in the kitchen that had once been Ginny's kitchen table. Lily clutched onto Ginny's hand tightly as she made her way around the house, becoming more and more upset as she found more things destroyed. It could all be repaired easily enough with a reparo charm, but the fact that something had so _viciously _destroyed everything in Ginny's home made her heart ache with sadness and anger.

While Ginny looked around, Harry and Ron had started to repairing process. When Ginny returned to her kitchen with Lily, it looked back to normal for which Ginny was thankful. Harry and Ron joined her in the kitchen after about 20 minutes, both looking grim and worn out.

"Every room in the house!" Harry exclaimed as he sat down, thanking Ginny as she pushed a sandwich in front of him for lunch. "It looks like it went to every room, one by one and destroyed everything. It's lucky James isn't here – he wouldn't have enjoyed seeing what it did to his quidditch posters..."

"_I_ didn't enjoy seeing what it did to those posters." Ron blurted, also thanking Ginny for a sandwich. "Have either of you walked under ladders lately? You must have the worst luck in the whole of England..."

Ginny gave her brother a look.

"You know that superstitious stuff is a load of hippogriff dung, Ron." She said sharply.

"Maybe it's because Albus got sorted into Slytherin. That house is full of bad luck..."

"Oh don't bring old house rivalry into this." Ginny retorted. "It doesn't matter anymore, and anyway, you can't talk. Rose didn't even get into Gryffindor, she's in Ravenclaw."

Ron let his head fall forward onto the table and groaned. "Hermione was ecstatic but I don't know if I can bare the shame. At least she isn't a Hufflepuff..."

The three adults laughed while Lily watched them all curiously, completely oblivious to what they were talking about. The rest of lunch was spent talking about cheerful subjects, as the Potters tried to forget the events of the night before and move on. It was only when lunch was over and Ron remembered he had to meet Hermione for an appointment with Hugo that the subject came back up, if only briefly.

"Just keep an eye out okay?" He made Harry and Ginny promise as he prepared to floo home. "I'd hate to have to come back again next month and find the house ruined again."

Ginny gave her brother a hug and then pushed him towards the fireplace, laughing.

"You won't find the house in ruin again. Promise." She told him, and with that Ron left in a flare of green flames. When he had fully disappeared, Harry glanced at Ginny, his face grim.

"At least, we hope he won't find the house in ruin again."

Ginny couldn't help but nod in agreement, hoping exactly the same thing.


	3. To Diagon Alley

_Hi guys! Well, if you're still here that is. How long has it been since I updated this story...I'm not even going to attempt to remember! I'm so sorry for going on hiatus for so long, and I hope you forgive me. Hopefully you enjoy this chapter, and the ones I hope to follow soon!_

_Disclaimer – O – Doom: __I'm not JK Rowling, so obviously, anything Harry Potter related doesn't belong to me. Thank you._

_

* * *

_

**Amour de la Lune - Chapter 3 - To Diagon Alley**

It took only a few short weeks for the Potter household to sink back into normality.

Thankfully, the Daily Prophet never got wind of the werewolf attack. Harry had returned to work the day after the incident expecting horrible panic, and instead only found his desk overflowing with insane amounts of paperwork _again. _Lily's nightmares of werewolves attacking her faded after a week or two of stress and late nights, for which Ginny was very grateful, as she had her own nightmares she couldn't shake. The chilling howl of the wolf seemed to worm into Ginny's head at least 30 times a day, and even more at night. Harry had suggested at least six dozen times for Ginny to go see a magical counselor, who might be able to erase that particular memory of the incident so Ginny could sleep again. Ginny however didn't want to risk alerting the press, and so tried to remain silent about the howling in her head.

It was just on three weeks since the incident on a chilly October morning when Ginny noticed the almost full moon hanging on the horizon once more. For a moment she starred at the half faded shape, her heart jumping in high gear as she leapt to her feet and ran back to the house, screaming for Harry as she did so. She hadn't been able to explain the sudden panic she felt, but Harry understood straight away and suggested they seek out help in a discreet manner.

The next day, the Potter's took a trip to Diagon Alley.

When she was younger Ginny had enjoyed the jealous looks people had thrown her when they had seen her holding the Boy Who Lived hand; now she just felt like they all knew why she was so desperately clutching to him for support. Harry kept squeezing her hand reassuringly, but it didn't seem to have the same effect it had only days before.

At Flourish and Blotts, the pair quickly found the magical creature section and began to pull books out at random, hoping to stumble upon something. Neither Potter knew what they were looking for, but each time they came across the word werewolf it excited them for only a moment before they were let down. Surprisingly it was Harry who was the first to give up on their search, and pull Ginny away from the books and towards a small sitting area near the back of the store.

"Ginny, I think we should ask someone for help," Harry suggested, trying ever so desperately to sound casual. Ginny gave him a single look, one that clearly read _Are you mad?_ How could they ask for help without alerting some kind of suspicion? Ginny doubted it was every day a witch or wizard, let alone one as famous as Harry Potter came asking about werewolf deterrents.

"Harry, we can't ask for help from a sales assistant who could have an uncle who works for the Daily Prophets scandal section! We decided we wouldn't tell anyone about this, remember? So we can't just -"

"Is that...Hermione?" Harry cut in, silencing Ginny's sentence as she whirled to face the direction Harry was starring off into. Sure enough, in a far corner, Hermione Weasley, formally Granger, stood alone reading a book. The scene looked perfectly normal, and yet even with her mind chasing itself with ideas of werewolves and spells Ginny knew something was wrong. Perhaps it was the way Hermione was standing, or the fact that she stood in shadow when everyone knew she loved the sun. Perhaps it was pure instinct. Either way, Ginny immediately moved towards Hermione's hiding place, Harry silently following behind.

After the incident three weeks ago, Ron had taken to visiting the Potter household more frequently than usual. It wasn't a problem at all of course, but Harry had noticed after the first few visits that Ron was always alone. He brought worry and suggestions from his wife all the time, but Hermione herself never showed. Harry hadn't wanted to mention it, but Ginny ended up casually slipping the topic into conversation a week ago to Ron when he had come for lunch. The question had completely thrown him, and at the time caused the older Weasley to shake his head furiously as if looking for Hermione like she was actually there. He had sprouted many excuses at the time, from sickness to work, but Ginny hadn't been able to believe any of them. When had Hermione ever let sickness or work stand in the way of her best friends? It didn't make sense.

As the red haired witch drew closer to her childhood friend however, she could see how maybe it actually did. Up close Hermione looked like she'd been through the mill. Her hair was tied in a scraggly ponytail, unusually frizzy even for her and completely untamed. Her skin was dull, her clothes slightly skewed, and her eyes almost lifeless as they zoomed up and down the pages of the book in her hand. The sight alone made Ginny grow cold. She had been cruel, thinking Hermione hadn't showed concern for the Potter's out of laziness. She'd obviously been too caught up in something much more important which Ginny hadn't understood and now felt horrible over.

"Hermione?" Ginny asked quietly as she and Harry reached Hermione's side, taking her hand and placing it on the top of the older woman's shoulder. Ginny had barely applied pressure to the area when Hermione jumped and dropped her book, dislodging Ginny's hand and looking like a poor frightened child as she starred at the couple before her.

"Ginny? Harry? Why are you here?" Hermione whispered, drawing her cloak tightly around her, "Ron said you hadn't been leaving the house much lately."

"Ron said the same thing about you," Harry shot back almost angrily, and Ginny gave him another look. Immediately his eyes softened, and he turned to Hermione apologetically, "Sorry, it's just Ron said you've been having a hard couple of weeks."

Hermione swallowed and nodded weakly, taking a step forward and then immediately taking two back as if regretting her original decision to move them.

"Yes...I'm sorry about everything. I should have come over after you got that...uh...that visit. I've just been so wrapped up in work that I had no time, and then lately I've been feeling..."

"Under the weather?" Ginny finished softly, and Hermione looked up at the younger witch with frightened eyes once more.

"Yes, under the weather. I'm just hoping it clears up next week...oh!" Hermione gasped, her hand jumping to her mouth as her voice faded. Ginny looked at Harry quizzically, then back to Hermione who looked like she'd just swallowed a live fish.

"Next week? What's happening next week?" Ginny asked curiously.

"Just...a business trip," Hermione said quickly, moving to slide past Ginny and towards the door, "It's my first and I'm just so nervous...I don't want to leave Ron. I've never left before and it's just...I don't want to, you know? Who'll watch him when I'm gone? Make sure he doesn't do anything...stupid?"

Two more steps and Hermione might have reached the door - however Harry discreetly snuck between her and the escape, smiling sympathetically at his best friend.

"We'll watch him for you Hermione. I promise," Harry smiled at her, taking one of her out stretched hands and squeezing it gently. Unlike before, Hermione didn't shake Harry off, and Ginny felt something like irritation in the pit of her stomach. Where had that come from?

"Why don't we have a dinner to celebrate your first trip?" Ginny suddenly found herself asking. Both Hermione and Harry gave her identical confused looks, causing her to quickly spew out, "It'll be nice, we haven't had a dinner together in a while, and it might calm your nerves about the trip Hermione. What do you say? Or should I ask Ron?"

Hermione's face drew itself into a hopeless look. If she didn't agree, Ginny would ask Ron who never said no to a free meal. Then she'd have to agree anyway. The only difference would be how annoyed Ginny was at her, and for how long.

"Oh...alright. I'll see you then," Hermione reluctantly agreed, then in a flash had disappeared out into the street. Harry followed her steps for a moment, and then turned back to a confused looking Ginny.

"What was that about? A dinner? When did you plan that?" Harry asked his wife, who quickly turned away from him and moved towards the front counter of the store.

"I've changed my mind, let's ask for help."

A young looking clerk by the name of Mr. Filing had looked confused when Harry Potter had asked him about deterring werewolves, but had risen to the occasion spectacularly. Within three minutes of the Potter's query, Mr. Filing had found 15 books on werewolf lore, and out of those 15 books he had found three spells that might be of use.

"Now, my first question is of course what part of a werewolf you are trying to discourage - the wolf, or the human?"

Harry looked at Ginny, then at Mr. Filing, and then at the book the young man held.

"What part?" He repeated slowly, as if it would help him understand, "I'm afraid I don't -"

"Quite alright Mr. Potter!" Mr. Filing quickly waved away his apology, a smile bright on his face, "Not many people do understand the true nature of werewolves after all!" Ginny played along with the salesman's smile but gave Harry a quick confused expression that Harry felt he could completely relate to.

"I ask which part because there are no spells to repel a werewolf completely - that is to say, both whilst they are human and as a wolf - because the human is well, human, just as the wolf is a wolf." Mr. Filing explained carefully.

"You see, werewolves are commonly seen as the human who they inhabit, but that is not entirely the case. The human and wolf are two separate entities entirely - they simply share the same skin, except for one night a month on the full moon. The wolf can say, influence its 'host' and certainly change the host in some aspects, but unless the wolf fully takes over which can only happen during times of great emotional stress, when finding a mate, or the most well known during the full moon, the wolf is completely hidden. Which is why there is not a spell to repel the wolf when it isn't actually a wolf...you see?"

Harry nodded, his face a calm mask while underneath his head spun slightly. Ginny felt the same way, confused by Mr. Filing's fast speech and incredibly chipper tone. For a moment there was silence, and then finally Harry spoke.

"So, unless the wolf had somehow taken over their um - 'host' did you say? - they can't be affected by repelling spells?" Harry asked gingerly, afraid of having said the wrong thing. Mr. Filing however beamed at the Boy Who Lived like he had just become his star pupil.

"Exactly Mr. Potter! Exactly! So, now you understand a bit better, which do you wish to repel?"

"Perhaps just the wolf," Harry began, but Ginny quickly cut in.

"Is there a way to be able to use a spell to repel the wolf part outside of a home, and then the human part inside?" Ginny asked curiously, and Mr. Filing nodded pushing a book with a bright blue cover at them.

"Of course Mrs Potter! The spells would be found in this book - one that puts up a barrier outside that confuses a werewolf and hopefully leads it away from whatever you wish to protect, and a spell that removes a werewolf from your home should it attempt to take over its human half!" Mr. Filing patted the book fondly as he relayed this information to the couple, and a few moments later when Ginny and Harry left the store with the book in hand, the young red haired witch couldn't help but wonder if he would miss having it on the shelves.


	4. Mark and Claim

_I'm not really sure how I feel about this chapter, but hey, I updated again! Enjoy._

_Declaimer-o-Doom:__ You guys know it by now._

_

* * *

_

_**Amour de la Lune - Chapter Four - Mark and Claim**_

The week past slowly, and Ginny felt like time was dragging on just to keep the fear she was feeling building for that little bit longer each day.

As soon as she and Harry had returned a week before from Diagon Alley, they had set up the spells for both the outside and inside of their home within minutes. Ginny had hoped the two spells would give her peace, but still she heard the wolf crying in her head louder and louder as the full moon approached. Harry began to notice the constant yawning and dark circles under his wife's eyes, and knew something needed to be done. Ginny couldn't keep going on as she was, but nothing Harry said could convince her to get help. She was determined to handle her fears alone.

As the week drew to an end, Ginny wasn't sleeping at all and Harry was on the brink of simply erasing the wolf memory himself. Only the dinner with Hermione, Ron and Hugo stopped him - if he wiped Ginny's memory before then, his friends would notice her sudden amnesia about the attack. Plus, Harry was hoping a normal dinner with friends might calm Ginny enough to make the memory fade by itself. Ginny held the same wish. Preparing for the night had already started to sooth her in bits and pieces. When she thought about what type of food to make, what ingredients she would need and even what to wear, the howls in her head disappeared for a few blissful minutes.

When she worried about Hermione, the sound faded for hours.

Since returning from Diagon Alley, Ginny hadn't been able to get the image of her best friend dishevelled and frightened out of her mind. It seemed scary that Hermione who adored her job and thought of overtime as a blessing not a curse would work herself to a place that could impact her physical health. It made Ginny think something else was going on, something that her friend didn't want to say. Something incredibly wicked.

The night of the planned dinner, Ginny became a nervous wreck. She paced the living room endlessly, snapped at Lily when she had tried to ask a question, and couldn't meet Harry's eyes. All she could see was Hermione; stepping through the front door looking like she had the week before at Diagon Alley. To make matters worse, the howling was back, and soon the vision of Hermione was howling at Ginny from under her closed eyelids and she felt like she was going mad...

"Ginny, calm down," Harry begged her, snapping her from the images in her mind and back to reality. Ginny clutched tightly at Harry's hand, feeling as weak as she had only days before. What was happening to her?

"I'm sorry, I'm just...so worried about Hermione," Ginny whispered, sitting beside Harry on their living room couch, "What if she looks worse than last week? I can't believe she'd let work do this to her!"

"Do you honestly think Ron would let her get any worse?" Harry asked her gently, and Ginny looked at him for a moment before sighing heavily in defeat. Lily, who had been watching from the edge of the room quietly snuck up close until she was in her mother's lap, snuggling into her middle.

"Don't worry Mummy," Lily said, "Aunty Hermione is too smart to let anything bad happen to her or Uncle Ron. Daddy says so all the time, right?"

Harry smiled and nodded, kissing his young daughter on the head while Ginny hugged her tightly. For a moment she let this calm take over, washing away her fears and the images in her head until the doorbell went off somewhere else in the house. Instantly Harry was up, pushing Ginny back down onto the couch and telling Lily to watch her mother closely.

"I'll get the door, and I'll bring them here. Don't move," Harry ordered, and then left the room.

Lily clung tightly to Ginny, restricting her movements as they both listened to the distant sounds of Harry letting the Weasley family in. They could hear laughter, and the distinct sound of Hugo twittering off pointless comments about his day to his uncle. Ginny's heart pounded wildly. Did this mean nothing was wrong, or was Harry simply being polite as Hermione walked into their home with crutches or something worse? Ginny couldn't stand the suspense.

Slowly, Harry led the guests back to the lounge room where his wife sat. Hugo was the first to appear, his bright red hair a complete mess and his eyes large and bright.

"Lily!" He exclaimed happily, bounding over to his cousin who rose to meet him with a tight embrace. "I got to apparate here! It was so fun!"

"Really?" Lily asked, practically bouncing with excitement, "I got to last month with Mum, it's so cool!"

The two children disappeared into a far corner quickly, discussing the finer points of the amazing feeling that was apparating when Harry and Ron stepped into the room. Ginny jumped to her feet immediately, her mind reeling with panicked thoughts. Hermione wasn't even there. Had she gotten so bad she couldn't leave the house? Ginny was about to demand the location of her friend when she stepped in quietly behind Ron, taking his hand gently in her own. Hermione looked...fine. Ginny let out a breath she hadn't noticed she'd been holding, and instantly plastered a genuinely happy smile on her face. Gone was the sad vision of Hermione from the week before; in her place was the same woman who had been Ginny's best friend for years, calm and smiling happily.

"Ron, Hermione, I'm so glad you made it!" Ginny exclaimed, moving forward to give her brother a hug.

"You sound like I didn't see you this morning Gin," Ron laughed, returning his sisters squeeze with ease before turning back to Harry to discuss a recent Quidditch match. Ginny turned away from the men, and towards Hermione who had back up slightly from Ron and into the entrance way.

"Hello Ginny," She said brightly, clutching her hands behind her back. Ginny looked at her position oddly, put off by the way Hermione was standing just far enough back to not receive a hug like her husband. Quickly scolding herself for overacting again, Ginny gave Hermione a stupid little wave and smiled.

"Excited for your trip?" Ginny asked, moving back towards the couch and sitting, beckoning Hermione to follow. After a pause, the older witch joined Ginny, but sat at the far end away from her. Once again, Ginny gave her an odd look but refused to acknowledge it.

"I wish I could tell you I am but really...I just can't wait to be home again afterwards," Hermione replied after a moment of contemplation, "So everything will get back to normal."

Ginny nodded in understanding, but part of her found Hermione's answer odd. It seemed like a completely reasonable answer but something was just off. Before she could voice this observation, Harry looked over from his seat with Ron and caught Ginny's attention with a wave.

"What do you think, should we get this dinner started?" He asked loudly to no one in particular, and slowly the three Weasley's and three Potter's made their way towards the kitchen.

Dinner quickly became a strange dance Ginny was not used to. She and Hermione sat next to each other, but the elder witch sat on an angle towards Harry at the head of the table. When the two women had moved to take the salt shaker at the same time, Hermione had pulled her hand back faster than a snitch at the world cup to avoid brushing Ginny's skin. No one else seemed to notice Hermione's odd behaviour. Ron joked with Harry and played silly table games with Lily and Hugo, therefore missing most of Hermione's jerky movements. When Ginny had sought out Harry's eyes for confirmation that she wasn't imagining things, he gave her a look that said _stop worrying. _She refused to glance at Harry again after that. Something was going on, and Ginny had to find out what. Hermione never acted this strangely, not without good reason, and the red head just couldn't seem to find one.

When they stopped eat briefly before dessert, Ginny grabbed Ron and dragged him into the kitchen before he could run off with Harry.

"Ron, we need to talk about -"

"She's fine Ginny," Ron cut in before his sister could even finish her sentence. Closing her mouth and crossing her arms, Ginny took on a very Mollyish pose.

"She's not fine Ron; she's been avoiding me all night! And the other day, she looked worse than when she was off hunting horcruxes with you and Harry!" Ginny hissed, trying desperately not to raise her voice. Ron shrugged off his sisters words and gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Seriously Gin, she's _fine._ This work...thing has just frazzled her a bit. As for her apparently avoiding you, I have no idea what you're on about. She sat next to you at the table for Merlin's sake!" As if knowing there would be no further argument, Ron then promptly left Ginny standing alone and angry in the kitchen. Taking out her wand, the young red head angrily jabbed it towards the fridge which opened and spat out dessert into her awaiting hands.

It was then Ginny had an idea.

Moving to stand near the table, Ginny carefully placed her wand down and then eyed the dessert before letting it slip from her hands and crash to the floor.

About three seconds after the clatter, Harry and Ron stormed into the kitchen wands blazing. Three seconds after that, they noticed Ginny standing sheepishly near the broken dish and ruined dessert.

"What happened?" Harry asked, moving forward and quickly repairing the dish and cleaning the floor of food. Ginny shrugged lightly, turning away from the pair to go back towards the fridge.

"I accidently tripped. I think I'm getting clumsy in my old age, but don't worry. I'm sure there's more in -" Ginny cut herself off abruptly as she opened the fridge and looked inside, "- or not. We have no more dessert! Harry, Ron, do you think you could take the kids down the road and get some ice cream for everyone?"

Ron instantly knew what Ginny was up to. He made to tell his sister no, when Harry stepped in.

"Sure. Be nice to Hermione, okay?" He said pleasantly, while underneath his nice tone he said _this is the last time, and then you have to drop the subject._

Ginny nodded, and Harry dragged a confused Ron back to the lounge room to grab Hugo and Lily. A minute later the two fathers' and their children ran past Ginny and outside to search for ice cream. Ginny watched them out the window until they were out of sight, and then forced a smile on her face as she went to find Hermione in the lounge room.

The older witch was sitting near the fireplace, watching the flames that danced there with a sad sort of expression. As soon as Ginny entered the room, Hermione looked up from the fire and starred at her with confusion.

"Where did the others go?" She asked, her voice almost nervous. Ginny shrugged lightly, taking up the chair near Hermione's, watching with suspicion as the brown haired witch instantly moved her legs as far away from Ginny's as possible.

"I accidentally dropped dessert, they went to get more."

"We don't really need dessert you know. You could have just told us what happened and no one would have minded missing out."

Ginny took in a breath. That was not a normal reply, and it was time to throw out her acting.

"True, but I wanted the others out of the house. So we could talk."

"About what?" Hermione asked, turning back to the flames once more. Ginny noticed the line of tension along the other woman's shoulders and leaned forward towards her.

"I want to know why you've been acting strange lately. Why you looked so beaten up at Diagon Alley, why you were so eager to get away from us, why you tense up at the thought of spending a few minutes alone with me or accidentally touching me," Ginny said, trying to keep her voice calm. Hermione's gaze flickered away from the fire for a moment and back to Ginny.

"I told you, work -"

"Has never stressed you like this before!" Ginny near on cried out, leaning closer towards Hermione and trying to grab her hand. The other witch instantly drew her hand away and flinched as Ginny made a small ah-ha sound.

"See! Why would work affect our friendship like this?" Ginny demanded. Hermione turned back to the flames.

"It just...it just is Ginny! Just drop this!" Hermione answered harshly, crossing her arms across her chest. Ginny drew back, surprised by her friends sharp answer.

"I can't Hermione. We've been best friends for years. I can't just let my friend suffer without knowing why!"

Hermione leapt to her feet, glaring down at Ginny as her eyes lit up oddly from the reflection of the flames. Her breathing was heavy, and for a moment Ginny flashed back to her earlier visions of Hermione howling like the wolf from the month before.

"Well learn how. I'm going to see if I can find Ron."

With that Hermione turned to leave, and Ginny reacted on instinct. As the elder witch went to take her first stride, Ginny leant forward and grabbed her hand, using it as leverage to lift herself into a standing position. As soon as their skin touched, Ginny knew she'd done something wrong. Hermione's back tensed, and her whole body went rigid. The younger witch's pulse sped up, and somehow she knew Hermione would be able to feel every beat against her hand.

"Hermione? I'm sorry, I..." Ginny trailed off, carefully loosening her grip and letting her hand fall. For a second Hermione's hand continued to hang in the air where Ginny had caught it, and then suddenly it reached back and grabbed the younger witch's arm tightly. A breath later Hermione's whole body turned, and she unfeelingly shoved the red head so her back hit the wall beside the fireplace jarringly. Disorientated, Ginny didn't even notice any pain from the sudden contact. All she could notice was Hermione, so close she could feel her hot breath tingling across her skin. Words crossed her mind and then disappeared just as quickly. Ginny watched in fascination as Hermione's eyes shifted, the brown giving way to crimson, and then to a colour like gold hidden in shadows. The older woman's breathing changed, and a soft whine built in her throat. Ginny's eyes widen and her heart jumped into an even higher gear.

_What...Hermione...why?_

Ginny dimly noticed Hermione taking both of her hands and place them above her head, securing them in place with one of her own. The other traced down Ginny's face, slowly coming to rest over her heart. For a few moments it stayed there as her pulse jumped wildly at the touch, and then Hermione's hand grabbed the top of Ginny's dress and pulled it down in one clean motion. The fabric gave way instantly, leaving a trail of bare flesh from Ginny's collarbone to her navel. Hermione moved her face close to where her hand had laid only a moment before and gently licked the salty flesh. Ginny gasped and tried to pull away, only to hit the wall behind her with a soft thud.

Hermione growled in the back of her throat once, as if warning Ginny to not move again. The red head complied, stilling even though she desperately wished to run. Satisfied after a moment, Hermione once again licked the place above Ginny's heart, and then leaned closer still and bit down into the flesh.

Ginny started to cry out, to jerk free, but as soon as she started to move Hermione had taken her mouth away and fallen backwards onto the floor. For a moment Ginny stood confused, and then noticed a quick shot of silver energy heading directly towards her friend. When the light hit her chest, Hermione cried out and her eyes slowly shifted back to brown. As the silver spell disappeared Hermione looked around terrified, spotting Ginny with her torn blouse and bloody breast still standing by the wall and making a soft scared sound.

"Ginny! Oh Ginny, I..." Hermione started, then thought better of herself and jumped to her feet. With tears and blood running down her face Hermione turned and fled from the room. Ginny watched her go and fell to the floor as shock took over. Her heart pounded and her head spun. _What happened? Why did she...what did she do?_

As the feeling in her limbs returned and the shock faded, Ginny found herself standing and moving back towards the kitchen. There, she stepped in front of the small mirror near the cutlery cupboards and gasped in shock. The wound Hermione had created was perfectly circular, each mark barely half a centimeter deep and yet all bleed profusely. Desperately Ginny tried to heal the wound, but all she could do was slow the blood gradually until it stopped all together. Stepping away from the mirror, Ginny quickly searched the cupboards around her for some bandages and soon had the wound covered and her dress mended. As she sat at the table, Ginny felt her eyes tear up. What had she done? Oh Merlin, what had she done?

When Harry, Ron and the kids returned shortly after, Ginny didn't even say a word before Ron had asked Harry to look after Hugo and run off into the night after his wife. Quickly Harry had sent the children to bed before gathering Ginny in his arms and rocking her gently as her tears took over

"Oh Ginny, what happened?" He asked gently, his voice laced with concern.

"I tried to talk to her and...and..." Ginny trailed off, gently reaching for the wound hidden beneath her dress and instantly knowing she couldn't bring herself to tell Harry.

"We fought. We just fought and she ran off."

Harry looked unsure as to whether he believed his wife, but still he nodded and hugged her tighter. As Ginny lost herself in his arms, her sobs became more laboured as somewhere in her mind the wolf howled again.


	5. Moonlight

_I just really quickly wanted to thank everyone for all the amazing reviews, favourites and story subscriptions. Every time I get a new email about it I get all smiley; it really does mean a lot to me. Thank you for reading and I hope you continue to read this story until the end. I promise I'll try and keep it good.  
Oh and I think this chapter is a little bit shorter than usual...but after this the real drama begins!_

_Declaimer-o-Doom:__ I think if I really owned the HP universe, I would have much more interesting things to do with my time right?_

_

* * *

_

_**Amour de la Lune - Chapter Five - Moonlight**_

When Ron came to pick up Hugo the next morning, he was there and gone before Ginny could blink. He had appeared before his sister had come downstairs, and so she had only caught the end of his conversation with Harry about how Hermione was fine and just a little shaky. Then he was out the door and into the rain.

Harry and Ginny didn't say much over breakfast, only enough to keep Lily happy before Harry took her to Molly and Arthur's for the day before going to work. They had decided the month before it was safer for her there then at home where the wolf could attack again. Ginny was sad to see her little girl go, and yet instantly relieved when Lily and Harry had disapparated outside the gate.

Ginny spent the morning continuing to try and fix the messy marks below her collar bone. She tried every spell she knew, used all the creams and potions her mother had ever taught her and nothing came of it. Curling into the middle of her bed Ginny sobbed along with the rain lashing at the windows, her mind running in confused circles. What had happened the night before with Hermione? _Never_ had her friend acted so...animalistic. Barbaric. What had biting Ginny proved, and why did the younger witch feel like _she_ had provoked it in an attempted to help Hermione? What spell had driven her away?

The marks on Ginny's breast ached, and her heart felt like it was an inch away from breaking into a million pieces.

It wasn't until later, when Ginny had composed herself as best she could before starting dinner did she realise the darkening light outside, and the first twinkle of stars behind the shifting blanket of rain clouds. _It's the full moon tonight,_ she realised blankly, then stumbled backwards from the stove into the kitchen table as she reassessed the thought. The full moon. The wolf. Tonight. _Tonight!_

Shakily Ginny went back to her cooking, her hands wracked with tremors as she tried to cut the vegetables. Eventually she gave up and cast a spell to do the job instead. Ginny prayed for Harry to come home soon as she sat where she could watch the night sky grow on the horizon, trying desperately not to run up to Lily's room and lock herself inside. She couldn't do that though, she had to trust their spells would work. She had to trust the wolf wouldn't come back, but she had this undeniable feeling...

Harry arrived back home before the moon rose, apologizing profusely for being so late. Ginny forgave him quickly, placing dinner in front of him while she continued to watch for the moon out the window. As soon as he was done, the pair moved through the lower house, locking and spelling the doors and windows. Just before they went upstairs, Ginny gasped as she saw the first sliver of moon in the sky. Harry took her hand as she felt all the blood rush from her face, and joined they went upstairs to Lily's room.

In their daughters haven, Harry spelled the trap door and the window while Ginny doubled Lily's bed with a quick spell for both her and Harry to fit into. The couple met each other in the middle of the room, so close that when Ginny breathed her chest rose to meet Harry's.

"We'll be safe here, I promise," Harry breathed onto Ginny's cheek, and she nodded before throwing her arms around his neck in a tight embrace.

"I know," She whispered, "But I'm still so scared."

"There's nothing to be scared of Gin. I'm here, always, I promise."

Ginny leaded back to kiss Harry tenderly, but just like that day at Diagon Alley she felt almost nothing. There was comfort, but not enough. Reassurance, but not enough. Love, but...

The Potter's stayed up until midnight, waiting for any sign the wolf had broken through the magical barriers outside. When the moon was high enough to light up the entire backyard and there was no sign of the beast, Harry and Ginny went to bed, confident they were safe again.

When Ginny awoke suddenly two hours later, the confidence slipped from her like a warm blanket as her ears picked up on a soft keening in the garden below.

The terror that gripped her should have kept her safe next to Harry who slept soundly, but instead it drove her away from his arms and towards the window to see what was making the noise. Ginny glanced out the glass, and her stomach dropped. Sitting near the broom sheds once more, like a twisted dog was the wolf, its mouth stretched into an 'o' as it howled, and its eyes locking directly with Ginny's own. For a moment the terror took her over, just like it had the month before and Ginny almost turned to grabbed Harry and run.

Then suddenly, the feeling disappeared.

It felt so much like someone had torn the terror from her chest with their bare hands that Ginny stumbled and had to clutch the window sill for support. Outside the wolf's cry gently tapered off, and Ginny watched fascinated as its head dipped slightly and went backwards, as if beckoning Ginny to it. Did werewolves usually know how to communicate this way? It was a question Ginny was sure Mr. Filing could answer, and she began to imagine his voice teaching her in the ways of werewolf communication as she crossed the floor the trap door and quietly went downstairs.

Ginny was sure it was her feet moving as she made her way towards the kitchen, but she couldn't comprehend why she was going outside to see a _werewolf. _She had learned from her earliest days that messing with werewolves only ended in death or a lifetime of struggle with the moon as your jailer. Yet something told her neither was going to happen to her, and kept her hand still as she removed the spells from the kitchen door and walked calmly into the garden. The wolf didn't move an inch as she approached it slowly, fascinated with its dark yet light coat and its eyes like gold hidden in shadow. Only two metres away from the beast did Ginny stop, her heart beating wildly but her fear minimal at best. The two beings looked at each other for a long moment, then the wolf swiftly got to its feet and crossed the last few steps between them.

Up close the wolf was beautiful. Ginny was sure all the text books said werewolf fur was rough and coarse, their faces dripping with saliva and the blood of their victims...but not this one. The wolf before Ginny had fur that looked as soft as her own hair, and a furry but almost cute looking face that looked purely curious. Slowly the wolf bowed its head towards Ginny's hand, forcing it to lie on the top of its snout. For a second Ginny was confused, and then she let out a little 'oh' of surprise and a quick giggle as she understood.

"Do you want me to...pat you?" Ginny asked softly, surprised how normal her voice was. The wolf rocked its head back and forth, as if to demonstrate what it did indeed want Ginny to do, then whined softly as Ginny ran her fingers through its soft fur. The young witch almost giggled again as she thought of how _odd_ this situation was, her patting the werewolf that had torn her house to shreds the month before, like a common domestic animal. If only Lily could see her now. If only Harry could see her -

With a start Ginny whirled towards the house again, looking up to the window in Lily's room to search for her husband's face. Behind her the wolf growled dangerously, moving in front of Ginny and fixing its own gaze on the window. Without a word Ginny laid a hand on its back, unsure of why she was doing it but sure it would calm the wolf down. The beast turned its head back to her, golden eyes still locked with some anger but also...

Ginny dropped her hand like she had been hit by electricity, and tried to step back so fast she fell over. The wolf tried to get close but Ginny held up a hand to stop it, her heart racing along with her thoughts as something clicked in her head and she understood.

"Hermione?" Ginny whispered.

For a second the two gazed at each other once more, and then the wolf butted its head past Ginny's hand and leaned close towards her chest. Directly over where Ginny's wound was hidden, the wolf gently tapped the marks with its nose, before moving away and sitting once more as it waiting for Ginny to get up.

"Oh, Hermione..." Ginny croaked, her eyes slowly filling with tears as she sat up and reached for the wolf, "I'm sorry, I didn't realise...I should have, with yesterday and the spell stopping you, and oh god when you were in Diagon Alley! You were still reeling from your first change and I..."

It took everything Ginny had not to throw her arms around the wolf - Hermione - and try to promise everything was going to be okay, even though it wasn't. Her best friend was a werewolf.

Somewhere between apologizing to wolf Hermione and crying herself dry, Ginny fell asleep and awoke as dawn slowly broke. For a moment she was disorientated, and then when a weight on her lap shifted everything came rushing back. The wolf, her revelation...

Ginny sat up from the damp grass and blushed furiously as a very human and very _naked_ Hermione starred at her from where she had been asleep in Ginny's lap. The elder witch looked around confused, then caught Ginny's gaze and gasped.

"Ginny!" She nearly screamed, backing away from her friend quickly, "Oh god, I did it again...please tell me I didn't hurt you!"

"Hermione, I'm fine, really. You didn't...I mean, your wolf didn't hurt me, promise," Ginny tried to sooth her, pulling off her dressing gown and giving it to Hermione who pulled it on shakily while tears threatened to spill from her eyes.

"Ginny, I'm so sorry," Hermione sobbed, taking Ginny's hands and looking into her eyes, "I don't know why my wolf keeps bringing me here, and I'm sorry I didn't tell you about all of this. Maybe it could have prevented me becoming such a danger to you. I'm sorry!"

"Hermione," Ginny sighed, hugging her friend tightly until she stopped crying, "Calm down and just...tell me now. What happened? How did _this_ happen?"

Hermione sat back into the grass, gazing away from Ginny and towards the rising sun, her tears drying on her face.

"I don't remember much of it. I had recently come across a place that specialized in making...in making werewolves. It was almost set up like a puppy farm muggles create to illegally breed dogs but...much worse. They pulled unsuspecting muggles into a ring filled with wolves, and turned them into monsters if they survived the ordeal. I was meant to take aurors with me but...I just wanted to make sure we had the right place first. I was an idiot. They found me as soon as I had entered the grounds, and set wolves on me within seconds. They pounced on me and I thought I was a goner but I was able to apparate away. It was too late though."

Hermione took a deep breath, and Ginny almost told her it was okay if she didn't want to finish, but Hermione ploughed on before she could say a word.

"I got back to Ron and he guessed what happened instantly. He wanted me to go to a healer but I couldn't have anyone else know that I was bound to become...a wolf. I helped him heal me and told him that maybe I would get lucky and nothing would happen on the full moon but...it did. As soon as I changed the wolf must have caught your scent from when you'd come over the day before and tracked you. When Ron told me what happened I was devastated, but I couldn't tell you. Then I saw you at Diagon Alley and you invited us to dinner and then I bit you and...God I don't know why any of this is happening!" Hermione was crying again, hugging herself tightly to hold herself together. Ginny replaced those arms with her own, rocking Hermione back and forth until she was calm again.

"I can't say I understand why your wolf keeps coming here, or why it made you attack me but I'm going to help you find out Hermione," Ginny found herself promising, and Hermione looked up at her with an expression of shock and relief.

"Oh Ginny, I can't ask you to do that -"

"Hermione, you've been my friend longer than anyone. I'd do anything for you, anything," Ginny soothed, gently kissing Hermione's cheek and rocking her again as the sun rose slowly behind the hills.


	6. Were the Wolf Resides

_I may or may not have been half asleep writing this, but I hope you guys enjoy it! Hopefully there aren't too many mistakes OTL._

_Declaimer-o-Doom:__ HP isn't mine, duh._

_

* * *

_

_**Amour de la Lune - Chapter Six - Were the Wolf Resides**_

Ginny found it surprisingly easy to lie to Harry about the broken wards and her disappearance that morning when he stumbled downstairs almost an hour after Hermione had left. Ginny fabricated a story about waking early and going outside to check everything was still intact and Harry believed every word - he didn't even do the strange frowning expression he usually did when he knew someone was lying. Still, it wasn't until he had left for work a while later that Ginny breathed a sigh of relief and found herself sitting in the lounge room, starring into the empty fireplace deep in thought.

Hermione was a werewolf. The thought sounded funny in her head, like thinking Draco Malfoy was a Gryffindor. Something about it didn't fit, but Ginny supposed the idea would continue to be strange to her for a while yet. With a lump of sadness growing suddenly in her throat Ginny thought of Remus Lupin, the only other werewolf she had known, and wished he was still alive. It wasn't strange to remember that he had been a werewolf, but then again he had been once since before Ginny had met him. When she had met Hermione she had just been...Hermione. Kind, sweet, beautiful, powerful, thoughtful Hermione who was just a witch and nothing more. Now not only was she that, but part of her was a wolf as well. Or part of her housed a wolf that wasn't actually her but something completely different. Ginny couldn't be sure. She knew nothing about werewolves, apart from the basics all witches and wizards knew, and that didn't tell her much.

Ginny thought back to that morning, when she had held Hermione close and promised she would find out something to help her understand the creature inside her. The red head's heart beat a little faster at the memory. Could she really fulfil such a pledge? She was sure Hermione had already searched every book she could find, because it was _Hermione,_ and if anyone could find information about something like werewolf behaviour it was her. Yet somehow Hermione had found nothing, so what chance did Ginny realistically have?

_No,_ Ginny scolded herself, leaning forward so her elbows rested on her knees and her hands on either side of her face, _think positively. I will help Hermione. I will find something. I -_

There was a crackle as the fireplace suddenly burst into flames, cutting Ginny's thoughts short as she jumped backwards into her chair. The fire made a loud popping noise as Ginny regained her posture, and then Arthur Weasley's head appeared in the flames. His eyes swept the lounge room until they landed upon Ginny and he smiled brightly.

"Hello there Sweetie, everything go well last night?" He asked cheerfully.

Ginny nodded and made a vaguely affirmative noise in the back of her throat, sliding from her seat and onto the floor in front of her father's head. Arthur breathed a sigh of relief, closing his eyes and chuckling briefly before looking up at Ginny.

"I'm glad those wards and spells work then. Lily was terrified they would fail. Molly had to give her a calming draught once she caught sight of the moon outside the window," Arthur yawned, obviously exhausted from staying up with Ginny's young daughter. Ginny's heart ached for her little girl.

"I thought we'd calmed those fears but obviously not," Ginny thought aloud, shaking her head before she continued, "Tell her we're fine, and that Harry and I will both be here when she gets home."

"Oh yes, about that, Molly was wondering if perhaps we could take Lily out for the day?" Arthur asked, his head bobbing in the flames, "She's still a little out of sorts from yesterday and Molly thought a day out might calm her just a bit more..."

Ginny smiled, "Of course you can take her out Dad. She's your granddaughter, and she loves spending time with both of you."

Arthur smiled and quickly told Ginny where they were going and when they would bring Lily back, before disappearing with another pop and leaving Ginny alone. Suddenly she had a whole day to herself, and she knew exactly what she was going to do.

It took her only half an hour to get ready and then apparate to Diagon Alley; the place just as crowded as it had been the month before. The first trickle of Christmas items had begun to hit the shops, though it was still a few days before November and another month before December. Even so, witches and wizards poked through the Quidditch wrapping paper that snitches flew across and stalls with little magical trinkets that read "the perfect Christmas gift!" with interest, ignoring the wife of Harry Potter as she swiftly made her way towards Flourish & Blotts.

The store was slightly more crowded than it had been when Ginny had last visited, and she found herself starring at the corner she had found Hermione with an odd feeling in her chest. If she could go back to the moment she had seen Hermione then with the knowledge from now...but no, it wasn't time for those thoughts. It was time to keep her promise to her best friend.

At the counter, Ginny asked if Mr. Filing was working that day. The clerk that was working there gave her a vaguely bored look from behind their glasses and sighed.

"He's on break right now, but he'll be back soon. Do you want someone else to help you or -"

"No, its fine," Ginny cut into to the bored drawling of the clerk, "I'll be over at the magical creature section...can you send him over when he gets back?"

The clerk continued starring at her with the bored gaze, but nodded as Ginny hurried towards the magical creature section slightly annoyed. Like no one had ever asked for a specific clerk to help with their browsing before! Pausing for a moment Ginny realised maybe no one ever had, but refused to think of the blush rising onto her cheeks as she skimmed the shelves in front of her. The first few books she found only had small paragraphs or chapters on werewolves, warning to stay away from them and repeating the same facts she remember from her Hogwarts days. One book spoke of werewolves being sublevel creatures that should be outcast from the community and possibly even killed. Ginny put that book away quickly, trying not to think of Hermione being forced to live out in the woods or killed by a bunch of Death Eater-esque wizards.

Ginny had just pulled out her twelfth book when a gentle hand tapped her on the shoulder, causing Ginny to spin around fast and smile brightly at Mr. Filing who stood just behind her.

"Mrs Potter, what a pleasure!" He exclaimed, shaking Ginny's hand while eying the book in her held, "Not more werewolf trouble, I hope?"

"No, the spells from the last book you sold us worked wonderfully!" Ginny found herself gushing, even though it was a lie, for only half the spells had worked, "I was just wondering if you could help me with a slightly...different werewolf project this time."

Mr. Filing's eyes lit with curiosity and a fierce determination to help with whatever project Ginny had in mind. He would not fail the wife of the famous Harry Potter, no sir.

Together the pair moved towards a couch near the magical creature section. Ginny placed the book she was holding on the small coffee table in front of her, before turning to Mr. Filing with her hands clasped in her lap.

"I'm looking for a book on werewolf lore, but not the lore found in the books I've just been searching," Ginny said, waving her hands at the tome in front of her while trying to think of how to phrase her next sentence, "I need a book...well, it might be a bit much to ask for a book written by an actual werewolf, but maybe someone who knows more than the usual 'stay away' advice and..."

Ginny trailed off as Mr. Filing slowly got up from his seat, thinking hard. For a moment he starred into the book shelves around them, and then made a little ah-ha! sound and raised his finger into the air.

"I think I know what you're looking for Mrs Potter! I'll be just a moment."

Mr. Filing then disappeared back towards the entrance of the shop, someone near where Hermione had been Ginny reasoned. Sitting back in her chair, Ginny watched other shoppers pass by as she waited, and within three minutes Mr. Filing returned with a light yellow book in his hands.

"I must admit not many people come searching for this book, but I think it may be what you are looking for. It's titled 'Were the Wolf Resides,' written by the mate of an alpha werewolf somewhere in Ireland."

"The mate of a werewolf?" Ginny asked puzzled, taking the book from Mr. Filings hands and gazing at its cover. The title was written in flowing black script, and beneath it a small hand drawn picture of a werewolf sat, howling silently at a huge full moon.

"Oh yes, quite an amazing young writer though this was his only published book. Quite a shame really," Mr. Filings said, and from the look of sadness on his face Ginny believed it _was_ a shame without a second thought. Ginny opened the book gently, taking in the first few words off the first page:

_Growing up, I didn't think much of werewolves or the people they inhabited. The strong belief that a werewolf wouldn't mess with you if you didn't mess with it had been passed to me from my parents. I didn't know it wasn't true. In fact, I didn't realise how untrue it was until a werewolf appeared on my front doorstep without warning and changed my entire life._

Ginny looked up from the page and at Mr. Filing, who was watching her read with interest.

"I'll take it."

Mr. Filing smiled in delight and ten minutes later Ginny left Flourish & Blotts, her book in hand and her mind set on home. When she apparated back there and had quickly made herself a snack to munch on, Ginny retired to the lounge room and slowly took in the books appearance once more. The small wolf starred up at Ginny, suddenly reminding her of the wolf from the night before. Feeling like her fingertips were tingling with electricity, Ginny opened the book pass the introduction and began to read:

_Werewolves are created when a muggle or wizard is bitten by a wolf at the time of the full moon. Of all the people attack by werewolves each year, only a quarter survive and go on to becomes wolves themselves; the rest either die from the attack or take their own lives in fear or depression. It is commonly assumed that the bite of a werewolf transmits a virus into the bloodstream that causes the change at the full moon, but that is not entirely true._

_The virus the victim becomes infected with, something laced with ancient magic from when the first werewolves were born, searches for the animalistic side found in every human and gives it form. From the moment a person is bitten to their first full moon a wolf grows inside them, born from their hosts own spirit, emotions, thoughts and destiny. It is a common misconception that the wolf and the human it inhabits are one, but truly they are better described as simply two beings with shared paths yet different forms. They are part of each other, but are not the same being. They are separate yet the same, different yet equal. Those that learn this early on in their wolf years gain quicker control over the urges of their wolf side and are able to work with them instead of against them. This ability gives them greater control -_

There was a great roar from the fireplace and Ginny looked up with shock, shutting the book in her hands and banishing it to her bedroom with her wand. The fireplace roared to life once again, three whirling figures stepping out of the green flames that danced there and dusting themselves off.

"Mummy!" Lily yelled, bounding forward and throwing herself onto Ginny with a tight hug, "I missed you!"

"I missed you too Lily," Ginny whispered, returning her daughters hug fiercely while her mind remained on the book in her room.

**x.X.x**

Over the rest of the week Ginny slowly read through the chapters of her secret book, searching for something to help Hermione. With each page of 'Were the Wolf Resides' Ginny found herself becoming more immersed in the world of the werewolves. She learned about the origins of the wolves, and about what life was really like for them. What life would be like for Hermione. It was fascinating, sad, and incredibly frustrating. Though she was nearing the end of the book, she had yet to find any passage describing Hermione's strange behaviours when her wolf took over.

Just passed a week after the full moon and purchasing the book, Ginny finally reached the second to last chapter entitled "Love and Mates." For a second she thought of skipping it, and then decided to read it anyway. Perhaps Hermione's strange behaviour was linking to her because of Ron and the love he and Hermione shared. It was a long shot, but it was something and that was all Ginny needed.

The first few pages of the chapter followed the author's journey in discovering he was the mate of an alpha werewolf, and the trials of their relationship. As Ginny read the words something began niggling in the back of her mind, trying to tell her something she couldn't exactly grasp yet. Reading on she tried to ignore the feeling, though it just seemed to grow with every word:

_Love is a complicated emotion and magic few dare to touch. Unlike humans who can choose who they love, werewolves do not have the same pleasure. Born from the unknown desires and needs of their humans host souls, werewolves are imprinted with the information needed to find a hosts soul mate and their wolfs mate in turn. Being that human soul mates are rare, werewolf mates are even rarer, and for a wolf to find its mate is a unique and rare opportunity for the purest love there is._

_Much debate has been waged as to why werewolves are given the ability to see and thus find its hosts soul mate, and its own wolf mate. Many magical scholars agree that a mate is used as a bridge between the human and wolf sides of a werewolf, because they are a mate to both and therefore can keep them in harmony. Mates also have an effect on a wolf much like wolfsbane potion during the full moon, and thus make a wolf less dangerous to the public. Some have also suggested that a mate makes a werewolf stronger in its human and wolf forms, seem most prominently in werewolves of magical descent._

Ginny sat back into the kitchen chair she was sitting in, her mind chasing itself in circles. So, werewolves were creatures that had the ability to find the ultimate love for their hosts. Something about that seemed silly to Ginny, and also romantic. She wondered if Hermione's wolf had already told her Ron was her soul mate, not that she really needed to be told. The niggling feeling in her brain came back again as Ginny thought this, and so she kept reading on over some more mechanics of werewolf mates. Near the end of the chapter was a small bubble entitled "Are You a Werewolf's Mate?" that seemed to float on the page as if it was made of water not paper. As Ginny gazed at it, the words in the bubble merged together and reformed into a question:

_Do you know, or are in close contact with, a werewolf who has been acting strangely around you and only you?_

Ginny blinked a few times at the question, her heart beating a little quicker under her shirt, making the little ring of marks on her collar throb. Ginny had been around a strangely acting werewolf, Hermione, and she _did_ act strangely around Ginny, though maybe it was normal and she had misread the situation? As if sensing her true answer, the words in the bubble merged and reformed once more into a new question:

_Has this werewolf started to, or has been avoiding touching your skin either directly or indirectly?_

Yes. The answer popped into Ginny's head before she could even properly comprehend what she was thinking. As the words began to merge again on the page, Ginny had to lay the book flat on the tables as her hands started to shake. She didn't like where this was going, and the next question made her dislike it even more:

_If you eventually made skin on skin contact with this werewolf while in human form, did its wolf side attempt to or fully take over?_

Ginny's hands shook more now, her heartbeat thudding in her ears. She tried with all her might to scream no in her head but all she got was a weak little yes in reply that made the book begin to form another question:

_Did the werewolf, after being taken over by its wolf half, bite or mark you near or directly above your heart?_

Ginny's hand jumped to her collarbone, and she quietly heard herself begin to whimper "No, no, no, no, no, no..." as her mind caught up with her fear. The answer to Hermione's strange behaviour dawned on Ginny just as the book reformed its sentence once more and the tears in Ginny's eyes began to fall:

_Congratulations, you may be the mate of a werewolf! For more information on your bite mark, read page 108._

After reading page 108 and discovering that wolf Hermione had let Ginny near it was because of the Bond Mark the red head had received the day before, Ginny had thrown the book into the back of her clothes drawer upstairs and cried for a half hour. It couldn't be true she thought as she sobbed. There was no way she was Hermione's wolf's mate, no matter what 'Were the Wolf Resides' had said. It had been a stupid book anyway; it didn't know her particular situation. It was fine for the author to be the mate to a wolf, for he had been single when he found out. Ginny however was married to the man of her dreams. Her real soul mate.

Her tears formed a small wet patch on her pillow and it just made Ginny cry harder and harder.

After the shock had passed, Ginny had spent the rest of the afternoon in a blur. Lily chattered about a book she had read, a spell she couldn't wait to try at Hogwarts in two years, but Ginny didn't hear a thing. She starred at her little girl, her and Harry's beautiful little girl, and nearly felt like crying again. What was she going to do if she _was_ Hermione's soul mate? What would happen to her family? How many hearts would it break and...

No! Ginny wretched herself free of those thoughts and threw herself into a hearty conversation with her daughter, disgusted with what she was thinking. How could she even entertain the notion of breaking up everything she lived for, when there was_ nothing_ to break it up? There had to be some other explanation for Hermione's behaviour, for her wolf's attraction to Ginny, because they were nothing more than friends. Always had been, always would be.

When Harry returned home later on, Ginny sent Lily away and drew Harry to her, passionately kissing him and entangling their bodies as close together as possible. Harry happily complied with Ginny's sudden passion, unaware of the dark thoughts in his wife's head. She felt the fire for Harry under her skin like always, but it felt...like something wasn't right. Try as she might to bring the feeling to fever pitch, Ginny eventually stepped away from Harry's grasp and returned to making dinner without a word. Harry was confused, but asked nothing.

As the next few weeks past, Ginny tried harder and harder to prove to whoever was up there that her and Harry's love was the only one she was destined for. Whenever Ginny could she touched him, kissed him, and played with the flames that licked at her skin, but all it seemed to do was make the flames colder and colder with each caress. She tried to be the perfect house wife as well, playing with Lily during the day and teaching her things mother's usually passed on to daughters while constantly cooking bigger and better meals. She used the excuse that she was getting ready for the return of Albus and James for the holidays, but it wasn't true. None of it was true.

One day, almost two weeks after Ginny had started her mission to prove that stupid book wrong; a visitor came knocking when Ginny was home alone. Wondering if being the perfect hostess would help her case, Ginny swung open the door without thinking and gasped when she saw who her guest was.

"Ginny, hi," Hermione smiled weakly, hugging herself against the cold November wind, "Can I come in?"

Wordlessly, Ginny allowed Hermione to step into the kitchen and shake of her coat before sitting at the kitchen table. With a shaky voice Ginny offered her a drink or a meal but Hermione declined, a strange look playing on her face the whole time.

"So, what brings you here?" Ginny asked nervously, sitting across from Hermione at the table. The elder witch blinked.

"I was just wondering if you'd found something," Hermione asked, her tone of voice matching Ginny's almost, "About my condition I mean."

Ginny's heart instantly sped and she glanced towards the stairs that lead to her room where the book was still hidden in her clothes drawer. She struggled to think of something, floundering for words as Hermione waited expectantly.

"I...uh..." Ginny began, her hands shaking so badly she had to shove them under the table and into her pockets. Hermione saw the movement but didn't question it, continuing to gaze at Ginny as she waited for an answer instead.

"I found nothing. Books on werewolf lore are hard to find and I couldn't find...anything. I'm sorry."

Hermione didn't react, and Ginny held her breath waiting. She regretted the lie she had just told instantly, but it was too late to bring it back. What if Hermione sensed the lie and called her out on it? Vowed to never speak to Ginny again? A feeling of dread grew instead of the young witch, and it was all she could do to stop the tears that threatened to spill.

As Ginny battled her internal war, she noticed something running down Hermione's cheek. Focusing, she gasp as she watched a cut slowly form upon her friends pale skin, blood flowing freely from it while Hermione winced.

"Hermione, what just -"

"It's nothing Ginny. I have to go," Hermione snapped, raising one hand to the cheek that was gushing with blood, and standing to grab her coat with the other. As her fingers closed on the material she double over, and Ginny cried out as she rushed to her friend, watching blood begin to seep through the material on Hermione's left arm and stomach without warning.

"Stay away Ginny!" Hermione growled through her tears, swinging her coat over her shoulder and wrenching the door outside open, going three steps into the garden before turning and apparating away. Ginny dropped to the kitchen floor; the door still wide open as she starred at the place Hermione had disappeared and tried to fight back tears. Something bad had just started to happen to Hermione, and for some reason, some terrifying reason that made Ginny want disappear into the Earth forever and never return, she knew.

It was all her fault.


	7. Hermione's Broken Heart

_I think this chapter is a bit sad. I really do like Hermione and Ron as a couple, and it's always sad to see them fall apart. Sigh. The things that must be done for the sake of plot. _

_Anyway, on a lighter note, thank you for all the reviews and interesting questions & comments. Hopefully some of the questions will be answered in this chapter. Enjoy!_

_Declaimer-o-Doom:__ Still not mine, whoo!_

_

* * *

_

_**Amour de la Lune - Chapter Seven – Hermione's Broken Heart**_

In the days that followed Hermione's flight from the Potter's kitchen, Ginny gave up on her crusade to prove her love for Harry. Instead every inch of her yearned to reach out to Hermione and make sure she was okay, but something in Ginny stopped her from giving into the urges. If the wounds that had appeared that day had caused any permanent damage, Ron would tell her, and Harry said he hadn't mentioned a thing. As the days started to turn into weeks once more, Ginny tried her hardest to not worry about Hermione, or think of her, hoping that doing so would deter the wolf and help Hermione more than Ginny being constantly near.

While Ginny cooped herself up in the house and refused to talk to her brother or his wife, Harry tried to pry information from Ron everyday at work. Still thinking that Ginny was upset from the fight between her and Hermione at the dinner weeks before, Harry used every tactic he knew to get Ron to talk. It wasn't until Harry had brought Ron his fifth box of chocolates that Ron finally let slip some information, and he hadn't even said anything Harry didn't already know.

"Look mate, Hermione's fine. She's over the spat, she just needs some space at the moment. Nothing to worry about really. She and Ginny will talk when they're ready."

Harry had let Ron's half-hearted answer slide, until a week later when he heard whispers about Hermione around the office. Waiting for the lifts one morning, Harry turned pale as he heard two witches gossiping about his bushy haired friend.

"Did you hear?" Said the first witch, leaning into her friend with a gleam in her eye, "They say Hermione Granger has been coming to work in tatters lately!"

"You mean the one who helped Harry Potter defeat the -"

"Are there any other Hermione Grangers in the Ministry?" The first witch snapped, then composed herself, "Yes, the very same one. People say her left arm is bandaged from her elbow to her wrist! And she has a large cut running along one side of her face. Everyone's been absolutely buzzing about it!"

"That's kinda scary!" The second witch whispered, looking frightened, "What could have done that to her?"

"Who knows? Maybe that Ron fellow she's married too..."

Harry had coughed loudly at that point as he walked into the lift, and they had both looked away in shame from his vicious gaze. Ron hadn't mentioned Hermione being injured, and when Harry confronted his best friend about it back at the office, he had simply shrugged the question off again like last time.

"Job's tough you know? We get hurt all the time."

"Ron, we're Aurors, getting hurt is part of _our_ job, not Hermione's. Why doesn't she heal the cuts herself? Or even go to see some of the mediwitch's here?"

"She doesn't need to Harry, they aren't anything life threatening. She'll heal fine in a few days, no worries."

But Harry had plenty of worries when he returned home that night, and they only seemed to deepen when he brought up the subject with Ginny and she instantly changed the topic to the return of their sons in a week's time. Harry played along until they had gone to bed that night, and then he had brought the subject up again. Ginny instantly went stiff on her side of the mattress when he said Hermione's name, and she refused to look at him when she talked.

"I'm sure she's fine Harry," Ginny said, trying desperately to keep her voice steady, "She probably just needs space, and I think we should give it to her right now. She's going through something...tough with this work thing. If anything is really wrong, or goes really wrong, we'll be the first to know. Until then, we should just focus on other things, okay?"

Harry hadn't liked the answer, but he had promise to stay out of Hermione's affairs for a time. Reassured, Ginny fell asleep on the verge of tears, trying her hardest to keep the waterworks hidden from her husband.

**x.X.x**

While the Potter's struggled in their lives, so too did the Weasley's.

In between worrying about his wife and trying to keep Harry from Hermione's secret, Ron had been researching day and night for answers to questions he hadn't been able to ask. Hermione didn't talk much about the werewolf stuff, and Ron respected that. It had been difficult adjusting to Hermione's new condition, but they had both handled it differently, and who was Ron to question how Hermione dealt with it? They had faced worse things in their lives, and this definitely ranked low on the list. Still, Hermione had become increasingly distant lately, and it made Ron extremely anxious.

It had started the day after her first full moon, when she returned home to Ron distraught over destroying Harry and Ginny's house. At first Ron hadn't believed her, but once he saw the evidence with his own eyes he hadn't been able to think of any words to sooth Hermione about what she'd done. For weeks afterward, all Hermione did was research werewolf lore, trying to understand why she had attacked people she cared about so deeply. To Ron, it seemed like the researching and the constant battle with the wolf in her mind drained the life from Hermione. He tired to help her, but it just seemed to make things worse. Ron had been about to snap and tell somebody, _anybody_ what had happened so Hermione could get help when she had disappeared for the day to Diagon Alley. The trip had been short, but when she had come home Hermione had been...different. The colour started to return to her cheeks, the researching stopped and life returned.

Until that party at Harry's.

When he had been dragged out by Harry with the kids to 'get ice cream,' he knew something was going to happen. When Ron returned to the house to find Hermione gone, it was all he could do to not scream aloud. It had taken all night to find her, and a whole morning to get her talking once more. Ron didn't dare ask what had happened, or why he had found Hermione covered in blood. Instead he tried to say the right words, held his wife in his arms and tried to wish away the pain for her. Something about it hadn't felt right, and it had unsettled Ron. At that moment he decided it was time for him to do some research of his own.

Hermione hadn't left any of her own notes lying around the house when Ron started looking for answers. He went over their home with a fine comb on Hermione's second moon, hoping to find something to start his studying off but to no avail. The only good thing about that night had been Hermione returning the next morning, practically naked and refusing to say a word about where she'd been, but happier. It gave Ron hope and determination to find something and to help her.

At first he found bits and pieces; the basics of living as a werewolf, how the change occurred, that the wolf and its host were the same but different entities. As Ron started to understand little things, like why Hermione had started to sleep facing the door (werewolf's liked to be prepared for attacks,) and why she had become even more protective of their children (werewolf's placed priority of their pups above almost everything,) Ron felt like he actually knew Hermione again. Even then it didn't seem like enough. Ron spent days trying to capture Hermione's attention and feeling like he was nothing more than an annoyance to her. He failed to register on his own wife's radar. It hurt that they hadn't kissed for days, touched for weeks, been intimate for months. Ron researched harder as his feelings grew, but still he found nothing.

It wasn't until a few nights before Hermione's third moon that Ron found what he was looking for. He had been researching more frequently since Hermione had gained three huge wounds from seemingly nowhere. She refused to talk about them, told him she couldn't heal them, and Ron_ knew_ it had something to do with the wolf inside her. Knew he had to find out what that something was and try and help.

Ron had been sitting in the bedroom when he found the book, tucked under Hermione's pillow, practically out in the open. At first Ron had been afraid to open the little battered tome entitled 'Were the Wolf Resides,' simply because he could feel the answers he was seeking in its pages, and he was suddenly unsure of whether he really wanted to know them or not. It had taken a dozen or so whispers of "It's for Hermione" before he had even glanced at the first page, and another six to actually read it.

The book was complicated and fascinating. By the looks of the dog eared pages and the creased pages, 'Were the Wolf Resides' had been Hermione's novel of choice every night since her return from Diagon Alley. It was no wonder why. Of all the books and scraps of information Ron had come across so far on werewolf lore, nothing had been as detailed and accurate as the book currently held in his hands. As the words flowed from the pages and into Ron's mind, he understood more and more until he could hardly bare it all. He had almost stopped reading when he came across one of the last chapters, 'Love and Mates.'

Ron hadn't been sure why he read it. He should have assumed that the chapter would simply tell him how Hermione's love for him would be slightly changed now and nothing more. He shouldn't have even glanced at the title. Should have saved himself the hurt.

When Hermione returned that night after Ron had finished 'Were the Wolf Resides' and hidden it once more beneath her pillows, it was all he could do to not break down as she tried to keep up a conversation with him. The test in the book played in Ron's mind like a song he hated. He wasn't Hermione's wolf's mate, not her soul mate. After everything they had been through, the family they had created from what he had thought was shared love...it seemed like they should have just stayed friends. When Ron disappeared back to his and Hermione's room after dinner he couldn't believe how he'd kept his composure with the weight of this knowledge on his shoulders. It should have been too much, because really it was. Yet somehow, though it hurt, it was almost like he'd known since that first night...

"Ron? Are you up there?" Hermione called to him, snapping Ron from his thoughts suddenly.

"Uh, yeah, in the bedroom."

It taken a moment for Hermione to walk upstairs and into the room Ron occupied, her face blank and pale, making the semi healed wound on her face shine an even brighter red. Her mouth opened and closed for a moment, before she came and sat next to Ron on the bed. He had looked away as soon as her weight had shifted the mattress beneath him, and Ron instantly berated himself for it.

"Ron I..." Hermione started, and then stopped. Ron wondered if she _had _noticed him acting strangely at dinner. He hoped not.

"Hugo's been put to bed, and it's still early...I was wondering if we could talk."

"What would you like to talk about?" Ron asked stiffly, afraid of where the conversation was going. He couldn't talk about the werewolf stuff now; not without giving his information away.

"We've been distant lately, haven't we?" Hermione asked softly. Ron felt the colour start to drain from his cheeks, "With everything that's going on...me being attacked, work, looking after Hugo, Rose coming back in the next few days...I feel like I haven't seen you for months."

_It's because you haven't,_ Ron wanted to say, wanted to scream at her, _Every time you look in my direction, it's like I'm part of the scenery!_

"So I was thinking maybe we could..." Hermione started, then stopped again. Ron was about to ask why she had stopped when he felt her breath upon his neck. His whole body jolted at the sensation, craving the pleasure as Hermione started to kiss down the column of his throat and remove his shirt, but something about it felt wrong. If what Ron had read was true, if for the past few moons Hermione had been going to see her mate, she didn't really want this. In fact, it would hurt her.

Yet still Ron found himself giving in, moving up the bed and kissing his wife deeply, moaning blithely as she ran her hands up and down his stomach muscles like she always had. He played with the bottom of her blouse, running a hand over her hips gently. For a moment or two he let himself believe that maybe the book had been wrong, prayed the book had been wrong. Then a strange wetness dampened his fingers and fear struck his heart.

Pulling back from the kiss and opening his eyes, Ron gasped. The wound on Hermione's face had reopened, blood mixing with tears he wasn't sure Hermione knew she was shedding. Looking down he saw the wetness on his fingers was more blood, this time from the slash on her stomach. Even the cut on her arm had reopened; the bandage covering it going bright red.

"Hermione, you're bleeding," Ron whispered, his own tears threatening to fall. Hermione clutched at his arms as she stiffened beneath him, her eyes screwed tightly shut.

"I know," She whimpered, flinching as the pain coursed through her, "But I can't let it...I have to do this...I have to..."

Ron sat up, gently bringing Hermione with him and coaxing her eyes open. Her pupils were extremely reflective from unshed tears, and Ron could see his own sad face in Hermione's sad eyes.

"Hermione, I'm not your mate. If you force this you'll just keep getting hurt," Ron said quietly, and Hermione flinched once again in his grasp, her eyes fearful and frantic.

"How do you know about -"

"I found the book. Under your pillow. It's true isn't it? You found your wolf's mate...your real soul mate. Being with me is impossible now isn't it?"

Hermione looked away and together they sat in silence. Ron felt like he was watching from above their heads as his heart slipped from his hands and smashed into the cold floor, breaking into a million pieces forever. It was true. It was all true. Hermione had truly found her...

"I don't care," Hermione whisper broke into his thoughts suddenly, "I don't care what the book says, what my wolf screams...it's wrong, it has to be, because she didn't -"

Hermione cut off and clasped a hand ever her mouth, wishing desperately she hadn't said those final words. Ron felt almost numb to the shock now. It was another woman. Hermione's soul mate was another woman. Ron supposed it was probably mature that he didn't care about the gender, but more that someone other than him had claim to Hermione's heart. There was only one last question in Ron's mind: who was this mysterious woman? From all the knowledge the book had given him, Ron still hadn't been able to figure that out. Hermione hadn't been acting strange around anyone, had she?

"Damn it!" Hermione suddenly interrupted Ron's thoughts again, leaving him alone on the bed as she made towards the bedroom door only to stop inches from it.

"I hate this...thing inside me! I don't understand why this had to happen. Everything was perfect. Ever since Voldemort fell all I wanted was life to be perfect and it was and now...now everything is destroyed again!" Hermione grabbed a picture of Ginny and Harry from the small dresser next to the door, throwing it viciously at the ground beside her. The glass smashed and the frame of it shook, yet still the occupants in the picture inside still waved merrily at the raging werewolf. Ron jumped from the bed and made to grab Hermione, but she danced from his grip easily, continuing to boil with anger.

"I hate the people who did this to me. I hate myself for walking so easily into a trap. I hate that my mistake is ruining my life!" Hermione hissed, the first trails of new tears appearing on her cheeks, "I hate that even now all I can think about is her and how much it hurts that she rejected me when she had every right to! Why does my wolf think it's so bad that I let her lie and slip away from me, when all I was trying to do was protect her and make sure her life stayed perfect...?"

Hermione hiccuped, then suddenly dropped to the floor and started sobbing uncontrollably. Ron was there in an instant, gently shushing her and trying to sooth her. It took almost 20 minutes for Hermione to calm down enough to talk again. It pained Ron to see the tears, the agony, the fear she had been holding back. It pained him even more knowing that they had only scratched the surface of it all. Who was this woman causing so much pain, rejecting Hermione when they were literally made for each other? Ron felt a coil of anger growing for this woman. She didn't deserve Hermione's love if she so easily let it slip away, even if Hermione had wanted her to do so. If he just knew who she was he would go and...

Ron turned his head slightly, looking back towards the photograph Hermione had smashed moments before. Of all the pictures on the dresser, why had she smashed the one of his sister and Harry? It could be coincidence or...

_All I was trying to do was protect her and make sure her life stayed perfect..._

Ron felt all his breath leave in one sudden whoosh.

Hermione's mate was _Ginny_.

"Hermione?" Ron whispered, and she looked up from his tear stained shirt in an instant to meet his gaze, "If I ask you something, will you tell me the truth?"

Hermione looked weary, but nodded her head slowly after only a moment of contemplation. Ron tried to get a fragment of air back in his lungs before asking in a rush:

"Is it Ginny?"

In an split second Hermione had drawn away from her husband, moving backwards until she hit the wall beneath their bedroom window. Ron stayed crouched in the middle of the floor, his heart hammering wildly. Hermione scrambled on the carpet, breathing too quickly as more tears fell.

"Ron I -"

"Don't Hermione. Tell the truth. You agreed."

Hermione stopped moving, her chest rapidly rising and falling as she placed her head in her hands.

"Yes," She whispered, "It's Ginny."

Ron leaned back, his spine hitting the bed frame almost instantly. He thought of a million things to say but each of them sounded wrong somehow. It seemed impossible to say the right thing in this moment. How did one react to the knowledge that your wife and your sister were meant to be? Certainly it wasn't something that happened often.

While Ron tried to figure out his thoughts, Hermione showed her face again and gently started to talk.

"The moment I knew I tried to fight it. I thought maybe if I could avoid her the wolf would calm down and the feeling would fade but...at the dinner..." Hermione looked frightened at the thought of continuing, but Ron's gaze caught her own and begged her to make him understand, so she continued with a shaky voice.

"I marked her, at the dinner. The blood on my mouth...it was hers. It was then I knew I couldn't stop those feelings, but I couldn't give in to them. How could I ruin everything we'd both strived for since we were teens? I thought maybe...if she found out about my feelings, my wolf's feelings...she would reject me and the feelings really would stop. But when I sat in the kitchen with her the other day and she said the words I needed to hear and I just let her say them...my wolf got mad and..."

Hermione gestured at the three wounds on her skin which had stopped bleeding but were still stained deep red. Dimly Ron nodded in understanding. A line from 'Were the Wolf Resides' came back to him, and it suddenly made a new, sick type of sense. _Unlike humans who can choose who they love, werewolves do not have the same pleasure..._so when Hermione had tried to stop her feelings for Ginny by choice, the wolf's natural instinct had been to hurt her. The wolf didn't have a choice, so neither did Hermione in its eyes.

"It should have worked. All the logic in the world says it should have worked but...it's not working. I still want her so bad it...hurts. Merlin it hurts so much..." Hermione clutched at her chest then, right above her heart. Ron slowly moved forward towards her, taking her hand from its position and kissing the back of it gently. Hermione hiccuped, clutching tightly to Ron's fingers until her hand turned white.

"Hermione, I don't think you can fight this."

Both Ron and Hermione were shocked at the red head's sudden words, and Hermione almost instantly started blabbering about other plans she could try. Ron simply held up a hand to stop her.

"You and I both read the book Hermione. She's your soul mate. Your wolf's mate. Getting rid of those feelings is impossible. You can't fight it. You can't fight your wolf you..."

Ron broke off and paused for a moment, drawing in deep breaths and wondering what to do. He couldn't believe how calm he was about this. How he knew every word to say. Why somehow, he understood. He glanced at Hermione's hand and wondered if maybe the wolf inside was helping him, trying to lessen the blow for him. _Hermione does love you, but you're not _her_...I'm sorry for all of this. So sorry._

Ron stood up, pulling Hermione with him and giving her a gentle hug. She clung to him, still crying, still shaking in disbelief and pain. It broke Ron's heart.

"I think I should move out."

"What? Ron, no! You can't!" Hermione begged, clutching to Ron's shirt with all her strength.

"Hermione, I told you that you can't fight this...and neither can I. We can't be..." Ron closed his eyes in sorrow, "...in love anymore. I need to fall out of love with you. I have to leave."

"No, no, no..." Hermione whimpered, her fingers still digging into his shirt, "Please...Ron you can't..."

"I have to Hermione."

"Please, don't," Hermione begged, her eyes meeting Ron's in desperation, "I need you here I...we can't...love but...I need you. Stay. Please. Even if you just have to stay in another room just...I can't lose you. I can't."

Ron looked at Hermione and not for the first time wondered how someone so beautiful had ever fallen for him. He had once thought it was fate...but perhaps it had just been a miracle. A fleeting moment of love that wasn't meant to last no matter how desperately he wanted it to. Maybe he was just the messenger, leading Hermione to real love, eternal love. Ron's heart clenched in his chest.

"Okay. You won't lose me. You'll never lose me Hermione..." Ron promised, and pulled her into another embrace as the sound of two hearts breaking echoed in his head.


	8. Shades of Grey

_Just a quick little thank you this chapter to __A.R. Van Halleorg__, for reminding me I have readers who have been patiently waiting for a new chapter and that I should really kick my butt into gear and write something for them. I'm hopeless with updating regularly, I know. I'm really sorry about it. I had to fight with my muse to get this chapter out, so I hope it isn't too...forced._

_To all my readers, thank you and enjoy._

_Declaimer-o-Doom:__ The Potterverse isn't mine, yo._

_

* * *

_

_**Amour de la Lune - Chapter Eight – Shades of Grey**_

Things were unusually tense in the Auror Offices that day.

The hours had been dragging since early morning, filled mostly with paperwork and internal dramas. Harry couldn't remember a time before when he had been stuck at a desk for so long, unless he counted the exams during his Hogwarts years. He found himself fidgeting with the items surrounding him just so he had something to do, and checking the time every few seconds pointlessly. When had work become so boring?

Ron wasn't helping the atmosphere either. He sat at his desk, hunched in his chair and tapping a quill repeatedly against a blank piece of parchment, lost in some train of thought. He hadn't even said hello to Harry that morning, but by now Harry was used to it. Ron had been different since just before Rose, Albus and James had returned for the holidays. There was gossip flying around that he and Hermione had a falling out, though Harry had chosen not to believe it. Office gossip was notoriously stupid, and if Ron and Hermione had _really_ had a falling out, Harry would have known before the office chatterboxes. Then again, Ron wasn't talking to him...

Forcing himself out of his chair, Harry dropped that depressing thought and stretched his cramped muscles. If there was any couple in the world Harry knew would never fall apart, it was Ron and Hermione. He'd seen them get together during a war, held Hermione's hand as she cried at her wedding from happiness, taken a photo of Ron's smiling face when Rose had first been born. The only thing that could break that up was...nothing. At least not in Harry's eyes.

Striding over the small space between their workspaces, Harry seated himself on the edge of Ron's desk and waited. The ginger haired wizard continued to tap his quill, reacting to Harry's presence only after the impatient wizard had waved a hand in front of his best friend's face. Ron made a sudden movement like a dreamer awakening from slumber, and blinked at Harry a few times before speaking.

"Is there a job? A real one not involving paper?" He asked sluggishly, his voice just off beat with the tapping of his quill. Harry shook his head.

"No, I just thought you might want to come to lunch with me. Get out of the offices for a bit?"

Harry's tone was light, as if the thought of Ron saying no to the offer wasn't a big deal.

"Oh, uh-" Ron's hands skittered around his desk, grabbing a stray piece of parchment to wave in front of Harry's face. "I'd love to but...should get this finished first, you know?" Ron attempted to chuckle, but it sounded like the coughing of a dying man. Harry pretended not to notice, but still his expression turned moody.

"Right, I'll be back in an hour then," He told Ron stiffly, and left the room.

Ron watched Harry go, his heart somewhere near his navel and his stomach doing nervous somersaults. He couldn't deal with this much longer - looking at Harry and knowing that he had the information that could destroy his world. Ronald Weasley was not the type of man who could handle that position well. Or at all.

Trying to fight back the bile in his throat, Ron turned back to the blank parchment in front of him. He'd been staring at it all morning, thinking of what to write. It shouldn't have been so hard to ask his sister to meet him for a chat, though perhaps the struggle with words came from the nerves associated with what the talk would entail. How it would be a conversation that Hermione hadn't sanctioned, and would probably kill him for if she knew. But he couldn't stand her pain anymore, or waking in the middle of the night to hear her crying softly in the next room, just because his sister was being a twat.

Ron reached for some ink, and dipped his quill in. He starred at the paper for another moment, and then began to write.

**x.X.x**

Ginny couldn't forget about Hermione as easily as she'd hoped.

Even now, practically a month after Hermione had run from the Potter's kitchen, Ginny still battled to not contact her friend and make sure she was okay. Her emotions seemed to come into conflict more and more. She couldn't reach out to Hermione, because she was trying to deter the wolf's advances. Still, she wanted so desperately to see her best friend, but didn't know if that was really _her _wanting to, or the wolf somehow calling her. Increasingly each day, Ginny found herself trusting her emotions less.

Ginny had hoped having James and Albus back would help her focus again, but if anything it made her even more confused. Harry ended up telling the boys about the werewolf attack only a day after they had returned, even though Ginny had tried her hardest to stop him. She hadn't wanted to scare them, and even more than that she hadn't wanted to think of Hermione unnecessarily. Harry however didn't know the wolf was Hermione, and that talking about it would hurt Ginny. He thought the boys should know about the attack, because only two days after their return was the full moon, and Harry was still worried the wolf might come back.

"It only happened once, and its been almost three months since then," Harry had told the boys, trying to inform them of the attack as lightly as possible, "But we still don't know if it was a random coincidence or not. I want you both to promise that if you hear anything unusual during the full moon you'll tell me or your mother immediately, got it?"

James had been the first to digest the news and react to it.

"That is...so...cool!" He had shouted, gaining a look of complete horror from Lily, who couldn't understand how being attacked was 'cool.' "I wish I had been here! I want to see a werewolf! Do you know how cool that would be? We were learning about them in Defense just a few weeks ago, and how to get rid of them if they attack. My friends and I found this spell that takes their fur and like-"

"That's enough James!" Ginny had ordered suddenly, cutting off her son mid sentence. Harry, James and Lily had looked at her in varying states of shock; Albus with curiosity. "That spell would be intended to _harm_ a wolf, right?"

James hadn't answered, but looked incredibly sheepish. Ginny had seen red.

"There will be no talk of harming werewolves in this house. They're human beings James; treating them like animals is inhumane! They didn't have a choice in becoming wolves! You can't hurt them for something they couldn't control!" Ginny had shouted, flushed, angry and near tears.

"Ginny, I'm sure James was just -" Harry started, but Ginny had rounded on him with a fierce look.

"Don't defend that kind of behaviour Harry. It's not right, you can't just -!"

Ginny had paused then, having caught her expression across the room in the kitchen mirror. Tears had just started to fall down her face. She looked almost crazy, beyond upset and a mess after only a few seconds of intense emotion. Ginny hadn't been able to recognise herself that moment, and it had scared her.

"...I...I..." She'd stuttered, then turned and fled the room. No one had followed her into the hall, and faintly through her sobbing she'd heard Harry soothing the kids and telling them Ginny had been having a bit of a rough time lately, and that they'd done nothing wrong.

_No, they didn't do anything wrong, _Ginny had thought as she had wandered from the hall to the lounge room, where she'd sat heavily on the couch and tried to stop the tears. _I was the one who did wrong._

That thought had haunted her on the night of Hermione's third moon a day later, as she found herself sleepless and waiting for a wolf that wouldn't appear. It continued to haunt her for the weeks that followed, and every time she stared in the mirror it was there, taunting her. It was _her _who'd done wrong, and Ginny didn't even know how to fix it without doing something equally as wrong to other people she loved.

Ginny was still struggling with the growing questions she couldn't answer when a letter from Ron arrived out of the blue, just after she'd returned from an impromptu Quidditch training session with James. Ginny hadn't noticed the owl at first when she'd walked into the kitchen, instead fixated on James's arms as he tried to demonstrate a move he'd pulled off at the last Quidditch match before the holidays. It was Albus who brought the letter to her, looking almost glum as he gently tugged at her arm.

"Mum, this came for you," He said, handing the letter over face down, "I was hoping it was from Rose but..."

Ginny thanked Albus who quickly disappeared back to his room, and told James to get washed up before lunch. When he was gone, she sat down at the kitchen table and opened the letter without thinking, and instantly found herself wishing she had after the words sank in.

_Dear Ginny,_

_We need to talk. Meet me at the Leaky Cauldron tonight, 9 o'clock._

_-Ron._

Ginny couldn't understand the emotions and thoughts the letter evoked, though to be fair she hadn't been able to understand those things lately anyway. Why did Ron want to meet her? Did he know about Hermione? Ginny let out a laugh. Of course Ron knew, he had to know. There was no way Hermione would have hidden her condition from him, whether they were soul mates or not. The real question was did he know that Ginny...?

"So Mum, what's for lunch?" James asked, appearing in the doorway and causing Ginny to jump. Tucking the letter into her pocket, Ginny quickly got the kitchen to work on preparing something for her and the kids to eat.

Ginny ended up turning the letter over and over in her mind as the afternoon wore on, and even night fell and Harry returned from work in a sour mood. Both he and Ginny were having Ron troubles it seemed, though for different reasons. Ron didn't want to talk to Harry, and that annoyed him. Ron wanted to talk to Ginny, and that worried her. Ginny had hoped that maybe that would mean Harry would forbid her from seeing Ron because he was angry at his friend, but instead Harry had told her to go meet him.

"Maybe you can find out why he's being such a prat to me lately," Harry suggested, and Ginny nodded, her stomach sinking as she realised that she might already know why.

**x.X.x**

The Leaky Cauldron was, as always, quite lively even at the late hour. Ginny had instantly felt like everyone was listening to her every breath the moment she'd stepped through the door, and the dread she felt about talking to Ron doubled.

Her brother had tucked himself away in a far corner, away from prying eyes and big ears. Really, Ron going for such a secluded place in a crowded club made Ginny nervous. Everything about this meeting was making her nervous, and just below the surface she could feel unwanted emotions already bubbling up. She shouldn't have come tonight, and yet she still found herself ordering a drink and making her way to Ron's table like she wasn't about to break down at any moment.

Ron didn't say a word when she join him, only nodded his head in greeting and staring at his hands while they waited for Ginny's drink to arrive. Once it was set down before her, Ron opened his mouth and let out a breath, but otherwise stayed silent. Ginny clutched her hand tightly around her drink, the perspiration on the glass adding more moisture to her suddenly sweaty palms.

"Hermione doesn't know I'm here," Ron suddenly burst out, his voice low and raw. Ginny blinked a few times, feeling like she'd just been punched in the gut.

"Oh, that's..." Ginny let her words trail off, not sure how to finish her sentence or why she'd even started it. On the opposite side of the room, a fight broke out between two wizards. Ginny watched the spells flying, almost disgusted by herself as she hoped maybe one of the spells would hit Ron and stop him from speaking for a while. Maybe then she could get out of this breaking instead of broken.

"Ginny you...know...right?" Ron asked suddenly, his voice almost drowned out by the shouting of spells and breaking furniture. Ginny refused to turn back to him, keeping her eyes firmly on the commotion across the room.

"Right, I know," She said evenly. She heard Ron shift in his seat.

"Good, I wanted to make sure...well it would have been hard to..." Ron started, then stopped, then started again, "I mean this would have been harder if you actually didn't know _that _part."

"What would have been harder?" Ginny asked, snapping her head back towards Ron despite not wanting to. Her skin tingled and she wondered if she was starting to look like she had when she'd snapped at James.

"Okay, let's cut the crap. I know your Hermione's mate Ginny."

Ginny's breath left her, and Ron looked like he'd swallowed a lemon. _No, no, no..._

"No I'm not," The answer was automatic, but it tasted wrong on Ginny's tongue. Ron gave her an astounded look.

"Ginny, Hermione told me herself. I _know,_" Ron insisted. Ginny squeezed her glass tighter, her eyes wide. _Hermione knew as well. _Ginny had figured that out already but to hear it out loud...

"I'm not Ron."

"You are Ginny."

"I'M NOT!" Ginny was suddenly on her feet screaming, and the room around her became awfully silent. She could hear the pounding of blood in her ears, feel the trembling of her limbs, and she could even sense tears starting to fall. They blurred Ron's face, which contorted first into rage, then pity, then hurt and finally sadness. His expression was all it took, and Ginny found herself falling to the floor and crying even more than she had the day she'd found out about Hermione. Arms wrapped around her, and faintly above the beating of her own erratic heart and gut wrenching sobs she could hear Ron yelling at the rest of the pub to go back to their own business.

When Ginny became aware of the rest of the world again, the first thing she could hear was Ron's tear laced voice in her ear as he rocked her.

"This is the second time in a month I've held someone while they've broken down. Never thought I brought out so much bad stuff in people," he attempted to laugh, and Ginny pulled back just to look into his face when she spoke.

"No, Ron, don't think that -" She started but he cut her off.

"I don't Ginny. Do you think you can sit again?"

It took another or minute or two, but eventually Ginny found herself back in her seat facing her brother and finally taking a deep swig of previously untouched her drink. If she looked anything like Ron right now, Ginny wanted nothing more than to run home and hide for the rest of her days. She felt drained, confused, and weak.

"I'm sorry," Ron whispered after a moment, "I should have realised this was hard for you too."

Ginny found herself laughing.

"Hard?" She replied breathlessly, "That would mean I was actually trying to face all this...mess. And I am planning to _never _do that."

The words left her mouth, and just like when she'd lied to Hermione, Ginny found herself instantly regretting every syllable. She remembered the thought that had been plaguing her for weeks and felt the guilt settle in. _I was the one who did wrong,_ she'd thought, and it was true. You can't hurt them for something they couldn't control she'd told James, but isn't that what Ginny had done just again with those words to her brother? She was hurting Hermione by not facing anything, and therefore hurting herself as well.

"I'm sorry," Ginny said quickly, cutting in before Ron could start speaking again. "I shouldn't have said -"

"No, you shouldn't have," Ron spat harshly, "What is it with you and Hermione? Neither of you can fight this and yet both of you refuse to even acknowledge it. You're killing each other in a foolish attempt to try and save each other."

Ginny didn't even try to break the silence that captured the siblings after Ron's voice faded, and instead tryed desperately not to cry again. Was she really killing Hermione? How could that be when she was trying to...save her. Just like Ron had said.

"I have to go Ron," Ginny said with a tight voice. Ron watched her stand with wide eyes; finally realising she was really going to go when she started to walk away from the table.

"Ginny! Wait!" He called out, trying to get all his things together to follow her, but Ginny fled before he could even stand. Praying he wouldn't follow her back home, Ginny apparated away from the Leaky Cauldron and to her garden, hoping upon hope Harry wasn't waiting for her.

She walked towards the door slowly, noticing the lights out in the floors above. James, Albus and Lily must have been asleep, which was good. But there was a light on in the lounge room, and as Ginny made her way into the kitchen, she wondered if Harry was in there. She made her way down the hall towards the light, her heart beating fast. She hoped her face wasn't still red from crying, and that Harry wouldn't notice how upset she was. She couldn't answer those questions yet, because then she might –

"Hermione, why didn't you tell me?"

Ginny stopped a few steps from the doorway, and her heart ceased beating. She heard a shuffle in the next room, and the sound of someone sniffling back tears. No. It couldn't be. Please...

"Why do you think Harry?" Hermione answered softly, and Ginny pressed herself to the wall and bit her lip to stop herself from crying out in shock. "How exactly do you bring that up in conversation? 'Oh, by the way Harry, I went and got myself turned into a werewolf. Thought you should know?'"

"I don't know but...Hermione. This is big. If I'd known this a few weeks ago..." Harry started, but Hermione laughing cut him off.

"Ginny's known for longer than that and look how well she -"

Ginny heard Hermione gasp, and knew the bushy haired woman probably hadn't meant to say that. The room was silent for a moment, and then there was the sound of movement and a gasp of surprise.

"Hermione -"

"Harry, I'm sorry I didn't tell you but...I still need space," Hermione said quickly, her voice higher and nervous. "When this is sorted we can...talk again. But until then, please."

More silence. Then Harry breathed out and it was gone.

"Alright. I just hope your okay Hermione."

"Peachy Harry," Hermione said, and then there was a roar of flames as she flooed back home. Ginny heard Harry moving towards her hiding place and fled back to the kitchen, trying to make it seem like she'd just come in when Harry appeared in the doorway. Something in his expression told Ginny her hiding was useless, and that he knew she'd heard every word.

"You knew about Hermione?" Harry asked, his voice even and curt. Ginny couldn't speak, so she just nodded. Harry looked downwards and his whole body tensed then relaxed in a second as he tried to comes to grips with everything.

"I can't believe...I mean, Hermione...was she the one who destroyed the house?" Harry questioned, moving to the table and leaning against one of the chairs. Ginny nodded again, trying to make her throat work again so she could speak.

"It's not the worst thing she's done so far," She was finally able to choke out, then realised how stupid it had been to say that. Harry looked up at her, his expression curious and slightly worried.

"What do you mean?" He asked, and Ginny bit her lip and shook her head, making to move away from Harry.

"Nothing, I just -"

"Ginny," Harry said, his voice suddenly dangerous as he moved towards her, "What did she do?"

Ginny looked up at Harry, scared by the expression on his face. Why had she opened her mouth? She was a fool. Ginny almost laughed. Shouldn't she already have realised that with everything she's screwed up lately?

Slowly, Ginny reached for the edge of her jumper and pulled it over her head, revealing the button up blouse underneath. With growing dread she undid the first few buttons, pulling back the fabric and revealing the small ring of scars she had gained what seemed like a life time ago. Harry reached towards them, brushing his fingers over them, as if he thought touching them might make them disappear. The ring burned against his cold fingers, and Ginny jumped back with a gasp, leaving Harry's hand suspended in mid air while she buttoned up her shirt again.

"It was...at the dinner. It was an accident though, really," Ginny lied, feeling small under Harry's confused gaze. He looked at her for another moment, then turned and walked away from her silently. Ginny found herself following him, back to the lounge room, then upstairs and to their bedroom where Harry sat on the edge of the bed and put his head in his hands.

Ginny watched him from the doorway, her heart pounding and a headache forming. Eventually Harry looked up at her, his expression still pained.

"Do you know why she...?" He started to ask, and Ginny shook her head, back to being speechless. Standing again, Harry paced a few times before sitting and staring out the window across from him with clenched fists.

"There has to be a reason why she did that. I'm going to find it. For you."

Harry's words sounded like a promise, and it was all Ginny could do to nod in agreement without bursting into tears.


End file.
